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IANO MASTERS

ERJES

TARRIETTE BROWP:R

PIANO MASTERY
SECOND SERIES

PIANO MASTERY
SECOND SERIES
TALKS WITH MASTER PIANISTS
AND TEACHERS
INCLUDING CONFERENCES WITH HOFMANN, GODOWSKY,
GRAINGER, POWELL, NOVAES, HUTCHESON AND OTHERS;
ALSO HINTS ON MACDOWELL*S TEACHING BY MRS.
MACDOWELL, AND REMINISCENCES OF JOSEFFY

BY

HARRIETTE BROWER
Authot of "Piano Mastery" and "The Art of the Pianist'

WITH ilXTEEN PORTRAITS

NEW YORK
FREDERICK

A.

STOKES COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1917, by

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY


Copyright, 1915, 1916, by

THE MUSICAL AMERICA


Copyright, 1915, 1916, by

THE MUSICAL OBSEBVEB COMPANY


Copyright, 1916, by

OLIVER DITSON COMPANT

All rights reserved,


including that of translation into
foreign languages

CONTENTS
PAGE

PRELUDE

ix

Freedom of Thought
Study

PERCY GRAINGER

HOFMANN

Inspiration in

The Gift of Music

JOSEF

GUIOMAR NOVAES

JOHN POWELL

....

ARTHUR SHATTUCK

LEOPOLD GODOWSKY

Piano

in

Piano Playing

Should
Sides of Art

Pianist

Many

....

The Laws Governing


and Interpretation

53

Technic
61

80

MRO ...

ERNEST HUTCHESON
MR. AND MRS.

39

Cultivate

CARL FRIEDBERQ

YOLANDA

18

30

"Art the Expression of Life"

The

The Beautiful

in

Music

....

Technic and Interpretation

88
100

K.

A.

The Necessity of a Thorough

VIRGIL

Foundation

EDWARD MACDOWELL

Related by Mrs.

114

Edward Mac-

Dowell

RUTH DEYO

125

The Technic of Interpretation

134

The Dead-Weight Principle

147

MARGUERITE MELVILLELIBZNIEWSKA

The Art of the Teacher

.168

MRS. H. H. A. BEACH

How

.179

MARTINUS SIEVEKING

....

LEO ORNSTEIN

....

a Composer Works

Sanity in Music Study

....

188

Contents
HAROLD HENRY

Fundamental Principles

....

HENRY HOLDEN Huss

Elimination

RICHARD BUHLIG

The Value of Learning

MISCIIA LEVITZKI

The Development of a Natural

of

201

Mechanical

Etudes

208

Hear 215

to

Technic

224

ETHEL NEWCOMB

Mental Problems in Piano Study 233

RAFAEL JOSEFFY

By Some

KATE

S.

CHITTENDEK

AUGUSTA COTTLOW

of His Pupils

....

Simplified Piano Technic

Technical

Study

Essentials

in

242

.255

Piano
264

ILLUSTRATIONS
Percy Grainger

Frontispiece
PAGE

Josef

Hofmann

Guiomar Novaes
John Powell
Leopold Godowsky
Yolanda Mero

.18

......
......

30

40
62
88

Ernest Hutcheson

100

Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Virgil

114

Edward MacDowell

126
134

Ruth Deyo

....

Marguerite Melville-Liszniewska
Mrs. H. H. A. Beach

Leo Ornstein
Henry Holden Huss
Mischa Levitski
Rafael Joseffy

.164
.180

188
.

208
224
242

PRELUDE
Encouraged by the

success attending the

appearance of PIANO MASTERY, Volume 1, a


Second Series of Talks with great pianists and
teachers has been prepared, at the request of
the publishers.

In arranging the present volume,

it

was

desired to include not only those who have


to fame, but also those of the

become known

younger school of pianists who have achieved

number of the
recognition for special gifts.
included
in
been
the
latter have
present volume. Lack of space, however, has prevented
the

inclusion

artists

who

of

many more

rising

young

otherwise would surely have found

a place in this collection.


It is earnestly hoped these familiar conferences with eminent pianists will be helpful and
inspiring to all lovers of

good music.

HARRIETTS BROWER.
150 West 80th Street,
New York.

PIANO MASTERY
SECOND SERIES

PERCY GRAINGER
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT IN PIANO STUDY

WHEN

Percy Grainger, the Australian


and
pianist
composer, arrived in America he
was not known as a player and but little as a
composer, although a couple of his works for
orchestra had been performed during a former
season.

When

he gave

his first recital,

he

and
His
went
personality,

proved to be a pianist of solid attainments


also of unusual freshness and charm.

playing, his compositions, his


straight to the hearts of his hearers; he soon
found himself the lion of the hour; success at-

tended each subsequent appearance.


It has been aptly said that a musician can
do little or nothing without enthusiasm. In

Percy Grainger, the quality of enthusiasm


1

is

Piano Mastery

Second Series

a potent force in his character and career. According to his own testimony, he loves to play,
to compose, to teach, to visit new lands, to
become familiar with new people.
has the
youthful buoyancy that welcomes with eager-

He

ness each

new

event and experience.

To come

into personal touch with Percy


Grainger, to hear him in recital and with orchestra, is to be conscious of an entirely new

of experiences. Personally you feel here


a particular kind of mentality, one which is

series
is

untrammeled ; of most gentle spirit,


bold
and
yet
heaven-storming when bent on
carrying out a purpose. Perhaps the words
care-free,

and unconventional would apply,


though no words can aptly describe so unique
and complex a nature. At one moment he
original

speaks of the homely matters of everyday


living, with the utmost simplicity; at the next
his remarks bespeak wide knowledge of men

and affairs, of various countries and peoples.


Whether he thoughtfully fixes a serious,
searching gaze on you, or whether his face is
sunny with smiles, you have the same impression of the utter sincerity and single-heartedness of the

man, of the radiant

vitality of his

individuality.

It

is

the same

when he

plays.

Sincerity

Percy Grainger

shines through everything he does, and the


buoyancy of a fresh, earnest, healthful spirit

you along with it. There is no flagging of energy, no moment of languor, all is
vital and alive.
At times his playing is electrifying. To hear him deliver the opening of
the Tschaikowsky B minor Concerto is the
most exciting experience; something that carcarries

you off your feet like a whirlwind. As a


pianist remarked to me recently, "A recital by
Percy Grainger always makes one feel happy,
inspired and ready to meet everything."
ries

Although

it

has been

my privilege

to confer

with Mr. Grainger at various times, it is pleasant to recall the memory of our first conver-

.We were

seated in the sitting room of


their apartment in the hotel, and Mrs. Grainger had just poured tea for us. She might
sation,

be taken for an elder sister of the young


The same sunartist, instead of his mother.
easily

and fresh ruddy


She is his devoted and constant companion, accompanying him everywhere. You
feel they must both have lived much in the
open, have tramped "o'er moor and fen," have
been steeped in fresh air and sunshine.
"I had not expected to come to America at
this time," began Mr. Grainger; "but we came
bright hair, clear blue eyes
color.

Piano Mastery

Second Series

primarily on account of my mother's frail


health, which I am happy to say she has re-

My

European tour,
gained in this country.
embracing many concerts, had of course to be
sailed
relinquished on account of the war.
at three days' notice, and our intention was to

We

stay two or three months at the most.


now as though we would remain in

It looks

America

for a long time.

"My mother, who is an excellent musician,


was my first teacher. She began with me when
I was five, and worked with me constantly,
two hours daily, for five years. This was in
Melbourne, Australia, where I was born. We
left there when I was twelve.
At about the
of
ten
I
in
and
age
my career
appeared
public
as pianist began.

My

teacher at that time

was Professor Pabst, who subsequently became connected with the Moscow Conservatory. When we came to Germany, I went to
Professor Kwast, at Frankfort, with whom I
remained six years. Later I studied with Busoni,

whom

as pianist

and teacher I most

deeply revere.

"Together with playing and composing, I


have found some time for teaching, though this

work suffered frequent interruption on account of my tours as a pianist. But I enjoy

Percy Grainger
teaching immensely
it is

the

like

it is

such individual work

conducting in its effort to bring out

meaning of the composer by means of an-

medium or mentality. It is showing


others how to express the idea. This is where
other

the true teacher can so greatly assist the student, by being able to show him exactly how

various effects are to be made, provided, of


course, the pupil is anxious to learn how. As
for methods of teaching technic, I do not in
general care for them; I avoid them. They

are often only an excuse for laziness, as they


prevent the pupil from thinking for himself.

As

for technical training, he can get it after


in the pieces he studies.
is laid
I do not believe in set rules for technic; if the

the foundation

player wants to turn his hand upside down


and play with the palm uppermost, I dare say

he could do it, if he worked at it with the same


zeal that he does with the accepted position.
In other words, I believe we should inculcate
principles of technical
ity in every player.

freedom and individual-

"Pupils often come to study with me from


the various countries where I have played. I

have appeared frequently in Scandinavia and


Holland, and have had numerous pupils from
both those lands, as well as from England and

Piano Mastery

the Colonies.

Second Series

The Dutch

are a very musical

and American
people. I might say English
most
talented, but their
pupils are perhaps the
talent takes the form of doing things easily.
talent that acquires all with hard
work, and another sort that achieves without

There

is

great lahor.

THE SENSE OF EHYTHM

"You

ask

if

I approve of the metronome.

certainly do; and it is amusing sometimes to


see how different the mechanical idea of

rhythm
it.

is

from the true sense and feeling for


for work-

We can also use the metronome

ing up velocity.

"In regard to the natural feeling for rhythm,


I don't find people in general so deficient in
this quality as is so

often imagined.

The com-

mon peasant,

with no cultivation whatever, has


an innate sense of rhythm. It will not harmonize, I grant you, with the beat of the metronome, but it is a very forceful and individual thing. He will put a swing and 'go'
into a popular air which can never be found in
mechanical rhythm. Mechanical means may
be necessary in the student's early stages, especially if the learner has not a just conception
of the various note values.

Percy Grainger
MENTAL

PROCESSES DURING PERFORMANCE

"About mental processes during actual performance of the piece in public, it is difficult
to speak, as so
brought to bear.

many
It

is

subtle influences are

to be regretted that the

custom prevails of playing everything without


notes.

I think

many

a fine pianist

is greatly
worried over the fear of failure of memory.
This may affect his playing; it may prevent

the freedom of utterance he might have, were


he relieved of the fear of forgetting. All pian-

agree that it is a great mental strain to perform a long and exacting program from mem-

ists

no wonder that even the greatest artoccasionally forget. It is no crime to have

ory;
ists

it is

a lapse of memory, though it is annoying, espeThis


cially if one is playing with orchestra.
has never happened to me; if it ever should I
think I would treat the situation quite calmly;

perhaps I would go and get the notes I always


have them with me or I would look over the
conductor's

shoulder, assure myself of the


on. The great thing is to

place and then go

have presence of mind in such an emergency.


If one is not very strong physically, or if a
great deal depends on the result of one's performance, the strain of performing an exacting

Piano Mastery

program

Of
it

from memory,

in public,

course

not

is

greater.

artistic to

play badly, so
better to have the notes in front

it is

were much

Second Series

of one than to produce poor results.

Most

would play more naturally with notes


before them if accustomed to use them. Fear
often destroys the perfection of what might be
artists

The

comfortable, the ideal


way, I suppose would be to really know the
piece from memory and yet play from the

a fine rendition.

notes.

ART

"Art

IS

NATURAL

the expression of natural impulses;


therefore I do not believe in being fettered by
is

Rather I believe in being as natural and free as possible in the working out of

many

rules.

artistic ideals at the

instrument.

For

instance,

I do not believe in people striving to acquire


a certain pianistic style they are not fitted for.
If the hand

is small and the physique delicate,


not
why
keep the dynamic scale small?
not play with delicacy and fineness, instead of

Why

striving to
stance,

is

become heroic?

Pachman,

for in-

a pianist whose limitations are to a

certain extent responsible for his greatness. It


is said he never makes a real
fortissimo; but

Percy Grainger
we admire
wish him

his delicacy and finesse


to strive for great power.

and do not

TECHNIC GROWS OUT OF HABIT

"The

technic of
habit.

an art

is,

to a certain extent,

I do believe in habit.

mainly
used to measuring

We

get
eye
and hand, until we can locate them automaticIt is the same with all sorts
ally, from habit.
skips, for instance, with

we

of technical figures;

doing

them

through

acquire the habit of


constant repetition.

When

the mechanical part has become automatic, we can give the mind fully to the emotion to be expressed. For I do not believe you

can

feel the structure of the piece

tional

part I

and

its

emo-

For my own
much concerned about how the

message at the same time.

am

not

piece is put together I think of it as music, as


the expression of natural impulses, desires or
;

aspirations.

PEDAL AND MELODY EFFECTS

"When

teaching piano, I make a great


of
study
pedal effects with my pupils. Many
fine effects of diminuendo can be made with

quick half pedaling. The subject of pedaling


is none too well understood; most wonderful
tonal colors can be produced by an artistic

10

Piano Mastery

Second Series

use of the pedals." Mr. Grainger seated himself at the piano and played a brilliant passage

ending with sustained chords, for which latter


he used shifting, vibrating pedals with charming effect.

"Another point I make is the bringing out


of a melody note above the other tones of a
chord; that is to say, making one tone in a
chord louder than the

rest.

This

is

not new, of

The
course, but students forget to study it.
a
to
out
desired
tone comes with
ability
bring
not easy to accomplish at
Most learners think they must play such

practice, for
first.

it

is

chords forte, whereas the best

them

is

way

to study

piano.

PIECES

"Many

THAT IMPROVE TOUCH

of the

modern French compositions

are very useful in developing sensitiveness of fin-

and I make much use of them with pupils.


From Debussy Reflets dans I'eau, and Pagodes may be chosen; also the Ondine and
ger,

other pieces by Ravel. From Cyril Scott take


the Lotus Land and Sphinx, also the set of
five Poems; all are valuable as touch developers. I find little attention is given to the study

of pianissimo effects; these pieces give one


much opportunity to acquire delicacy.

Percy Grainger

11

DELIGHTS OF STUDY

"Do not imagine I want less study because I


seek to avoid many formalities. Study is the
only thing I care about in life, but I love the
study of nature as well as art. No one can

study too much; but let us have the heart of


everything, not only the formal side. I like
to study the language of a people, but rather
the phonetics than the grammar.

"To me

art

is

The more intensely stumore joyous will he be


mind everything connected

joy.
dious the artist, the
in his art.

To my

with art and the study of


natural, individualistic,
stinctive.

Above

art,

should be easy,

untrammeled and in'Von innen

all instinctive;

heraus.'

"In art there

no escaping from one's true


inner nature; neither for beginner nor for finished artist. It seems to me the teacher should
not strive to teach any one pupil the entire
is

gamut of pianistic technic, but concentrate


rather upon those phases of it to which the
pupil seems physically addicted, or emotionally
attracted.

"One hour spent in practicing a phase of


music for which a pupil has a natural physical
or imaginative ability, will generally prove

Piano Mastery

12

Second Series

than many hours devoted to


which the pupil is less intowards
problems

more

fruitful

stinctively impelled.

"Let each student and subsequently each


choose those compositions that contain in
abundance the particular pianistic styles for
artist

which
him.

emotional and physical nature equips


This course will make for individuality

his

in the artist's repertory,

and tend to banish

samishness from concert programs.

BEGINNING MUSIC STUDY


"Beginners at the piano need to learn so
things at the start. There is the trainof
ing
eye, ear and hand, the learning of notes
and note-values, together with all sorts of

many

If students could have thorough


in these things before they come to us,

movements.
drill

how much

greater progress they would make


in the real business of playing the piano I

"As

to instructing beginners, I find naturally no necessity for doing this on the piano;
but I have taught beginners on the mandolin

and guitar. I am fond of the combination of


these instruments with strings and have writ-

number of compositions for a small body


of string players. I play the guitar myself,
and so does my mother; I have a special
ten a

13

Percy Grainger

method of performing on it. I prefer to take


an out-and-out beginner on this instrument
than to take some one who has played it a good
deal, and be obliged to show him all over
again."

NEW INSTRUMENTS
Mr. Grainger had much

to say about composing for a small orchestra.


"Very interesting to a modern composer,"

he remarked, "are the several newly invented


or perfected instruments, such as the Mustel
organ, the various Saxophones, the Haeckel-

phone; also the percussion instruments, such


as the Marimbaphone, Bass-xylophones, Resonaphone, and the like. The tone of most of
these new instruments is fairly delicate and
sensitive, and would be swamped or lost in a

modern mammoth
is

that

it is

orchestra.

My own feeling

in combinations of

chamber music

that these smaller, subtle, but highly characteristic instruments come into their own, and
are heard at their full value.

The

latter-day
tendencies are not toward noise and tonal ef-

on a gigantic

but rather toward


delicacy, sensitiveness and, above all, transparency of color. Personally, I enjoy best of
fects

all

scale,

writing for combinations of

let

us say

Piano Mastery

14

Second Series

twenty instruments, such as four strings,


celesta, English horn, two guitars and resonaphone. Or such a combination as this: five
men's voices, Mustel organ, four woodwind instruments and six strings."
six to

Some

of

Mr.

Grainger's compositions
already published embody the folk tunes of
various countries in new and original forms.

Those for piano include Shepherd's Hey,


Green Bushes, Country Tune, and Colonial
Song; these are also scored for full orchestra.

They can be obtained


of players, even

as.

for a smaller

small a

number

company

as twelve.

Percy Grainger has been called by Runci"the one cheerful, sunny composer living." Finck says of his music: "One really

man

tempted to say that these are the best


things that have ever come to us from England."
Other critics have written much in
feels

"He catches us
praise of his compositions.
and
whirls
us
up
away in the spirit of the country dance." "His music sounds like the dawning of a new era." "Such genuine humor and
wit, such enthusiasm, such virility and masterly
musicianship as Mr. Grainger shows are met
with only on the rarest occasions in a musician of

any country.

Indeed

it is

doubtful

if

15

Percy Grainger
these qualities are combined in
composer now before the public."
all

any other

These are words of high praise, from well-

known

authorities.

We

should rejoice to find

a composer who can write in a healthy, sane


do not want to be
and buoyant spirit.
forever in the depths, racked by violent unhealthy emotions we want to be on the heights,
in the sunlight, whenever we can reach such

We

altitudes.

Mr. Grainger's compositions are popular in


England and on the Continent, and bid fair to
become equally so in America. Like most
true artists, he feels strongly that "wars or
rumors of wars" should not be allowed to upset the internationality of art.

Australian

is

deeply touched by the true spirit

of artistic neutrality he has

New

The young

met on

all sides

in

York, amongst musicians of every nationality, and he points with pride to the fact
that some of the best criticisms he has received
in America have appeared in the German
newspapers. He is no less proud of the high
spirit of neutrality which permeates English
musical life at present.
Not long ago two
large festivals of German music, one devoted
to Brahms, the other to Wagner, were held
there. Another "Festival of German Music"

16

Piano Mastery

Second Series

shortly to be held in London, side by side


with a "Festival of British Music," in which
is

the works of Cyril Scott, Frederick Delius,

Stanford, Elgar and Percy Grainger figure


At present Frederick Delius, the
largely.

great

Anglo-German composer, and Percy

Grainger run one another very close in popuMr. Grainger is boundlessly enthusilarity.
astic over his "rival," who, in his judgment, is
the greatest of living composers.
"It is inspiring to live in an age in which
such noble and altruistic interpretations of the
universality of art are displayed," said

Mr.

Grainger. "In Frederick Delius," continued


Australian admirer, "German and British

his

qualities are most fortunately blended and


have contrived to produce a unique genius,
whose work recalls at once such creative types
as Bach, Walt Whitman, Keats and Grieg."

Mr. Grainger is gifted as a linguist and is


enthusiastic over the various tongues and dialects of the different countries through which

He speaks German, DanDutch and Norwegian, and has some

he has traveled.
ish,

knowledge of Icelandic, Jutish, Frisian, Faroese and the peasant dialects of Norway. This
acquaintance with the languages has greatly
assisted in the study of folk melodies.
He is

Percy Grainger

17

considered one of the greatest authorities on


folk songs and primitive music, having himself
collected and carefully noted down nearly five

hundred examples of traditional singing and


playing in Great Britain, Scandinavia, New
Zealand and the South Seas.
As a pianist Percy Grainger plays with
clarity of touch, variety of tone color and
splendid sweep and virility. He is able to set
the composition before the listener in well-balanced proportions, and direct simplicity of

thought. One feels the composer of the work


under consideration would wish it played in
just this way, with just this directness of utterance. At the same time the pianist lends

glow of his own


and
enthusiasm, by means of which
buoyancy
well-known themes take on a new meaning and
make a new and unusual appeal.

to everything he touches the

II

JOSEF HOFMANN
INSPIRATION IN PIANO PLAYING

AMERICANS

naturally feel a peculiar interest in the art of Josef Hofmann, for they have

grow and develop from the wonder child


of ten to the matured artist, who stands to-day
seen

it

on the mountain height of his profession. There


must be thousands in this country who remember the marvelous exhibition of piano playing
Polish boy during the season of 1888, when, as a wonderful child prodigy, he was brought over to make his first tour

offered

by

the

little

of America.

He was such a little fellow, with such a serious face, as he came


ple sailor suit
stool.

upon

the stage in his sim-

and climbed on to the piano

But we soon forgot all else,


when he began

orchestral prelude,

Ah, then

it

was no

after the

to play.
longer a tiny child, in a

blue sailor suit; it was a man, who grappled


with those handfuls of notes and flung them

out into space with such sureness and freedom.


18

Josef

Hofmann

19

That powerful, singing tone did not belong

to

puny strength of a child of ten. Neither


did that sympathetic reading of the score, that

the

understanding of the meaning of the music.


No human power could have taught him these
things it was inborn genius.
;

No

wonder people went wild with excitement and split their gloves in vociferous apIt was almost beyond belief.
The
plause.
climax came when this mite of a boy began
to improvise on a theme handed up to him by
chance from any one in the audience. Then
his powers were tested and not found wanting.
People shook their heads and said such precocity could not mature; that the lad would
probably never be heard from in the future.
In this they were vastly mistaken. The child

prodigy retired from the footlights and spent


seven or eight years in close study. Then he
emerged into the light and returned to us a
full-fledged artist.

Hofmann was

Josef
still;

But

it

that was not the end.

never content to stand

was only a milestone

in his

upward

He

has always been at work, always


flight.
progressing, never content with present attain-

Each year we have watched his growth,


have felt his art become finer, more expressive,
more subtle, until at the present moment it
ments.

Piano Mastery

20

Second Series

seems wellnigh perfect. Yet the artist does


not take this view.
"There are still difficulties I have not yet
overcome, limitations beyond which I have not
passed. I have not yet all the power I desire,
nor always the ability to express every shade
of emotion I wish to portray. There is still
much I hope to accomplish in the expression
of emotion and inspiration in piano playing."
Admissions like these, coming from the lips
of such a musician, are further proofs of the
humility of the truly great

artist.

Mr. Hofmann,

in spite of pressing concert


engagements, permitted me to come and talk

over with him some of the phases of pianistic


art.

I found him in his apartments overlooking


fluffy white poodle took great

the park.

interest in the entrance of the visitor,

but was

cautioned by his master, who held up a warning fore finger, "not to be a bore."

"You

will

marked the
Mrs.

meet

artist,

my

family by degrees," resmiling: "first my dog, then

Hofmann (who entered later) and my lit-

This little girl of


daughter, Josepha."
nine has marked ability along artistic lines, and
tle

is

already doing creditable sketches in water

color.

Josef

Hofmann

21

We

spoke first of the little Polish boy, who


aroused such a furore in America at the age
of ten.

"That was

in '88," said

Mr. Hofmann. "At

that time I played the Mendelssohn Concerto


in
minor, also his Capriccio, and the Bee-

thoven Concertos in C major and C minor."


"Do not forget the improvising, which
seemed so marvelous to us then."
"Oh, yes, I improvised, of course."
"Surely one who has such a perfect technic,
who has solved every technical problem, can
accomplish all one desires in interpretation."
"It goes without saying that an artist in
these days

must have a great

technic: that

is

where piano playing really begins. But I do


not consider that I yet possess a perfect techThe artist,
nic, for I still have limitations.
must
allow
to
the
however,
public
guess his
limitations.
There is as much art in choosas
the
ing
right kind of compositions
in playing them.
There are still some
pieces I would not attempt; some that require
have.

more power, for

instance, than I

The player should never urge

his force

he must always keep something in


If the tone is at its utmost capacity

to the limit
reserve.

now

of production,

it

will

sound hard; there must

22

Piano Mastery

Second Series

always be some reserve power back of it. Ruwas capable of immense power, for he
had a very heavy hand and arm. His fifth finbinstein

ger was as thick as

Then

his fingers

my

thumb

think of

it!

were square on the ends, with


It was a wonderful hand,

cushions on them.

and very large besides. Yet with


one felt he had more in reserve.

all his

power,

TECHNIC STUDY
"I do no technical work outside of the composition, for the reason that I find plenty of

work on

in the piece itself. Every


passage that presents the least difficulty is
studied in minute detail, with well raised fin-

technic to

gers, clear distinct touch, always taking care


to put the finger down exactly in the middle

of each key, not on the side of it.


is studied with every kind of touch,

The

piece

tempo and

studied till the player has comof every possible variety of tone, touch
and degree of power or delicacy. When all

dynamics

mand

these things are under control, he


interpret the composition.

is

ready to

IDEAL INTERPRETATION
"I repeat that only when the player has
control of the means, has he the true freedom

Josef
to

clearly

Then

Hofmann

23

and adequately express himself.


on the nature of

his interpretation takes

an improvisation.
"There are many circumstances which influence the artist's interpretation. His prevailing mood at the moment, the piano, the mental
quality of the audience, the acoustics of the
space he has to fill, and so on. I play very differently in the concert hall from what I do at
home in
study. When before an audience,
I must take into account all the things I have

my

mentioned.
scale of

If I

am to

dynamics

is

fill

Carnegie Hall,

my

quite different from the

one I use in a smaller space.

There must

like-

wise be corresponding differences in touch and


tone color.

"You speak

of the spiritual side of piano


interpretation. To bring out that side surely
depends on the absolute freedom and untram-

meled condition, both mentally and physically,


which one is in.
"I can affirm, therefore, that I do not know,
beforehand,

how

I shall be able to play the

piece, until I have tried the space, the piano,


the hearers and myself. I may be able to con-

and to express myself with


perfect freedom, and then I may not. There

trol every point,

are times

when

it

seems I have nothing to say.

24

Second Series

Piano Mastery

The

notes of the piece are there, an inanimate


skeleton.
It is like a dinner table, daintily
laid out,

where the viands are wanting, and the

listener goes

away unfed.

TWO KINDS OF

PIANISTS

"As I see it, there are two kinds of pianists.


The more numerous sort may master every
note, finger mark and sign of expression with
commendable exactness; everything

is

thought
out in the privacy of the studio. When they
come before an audience they merely transfer
this

conception to the larger space, playing

just as they would at home. They always try


to play the piece in precisely the same way.

"I cannot believe


cannot do

it

never did

so.

myself and

he had played

"The

only way. I
master Rubinstein

this is the

my

He
it

never played a piece just as


before I cannot do this either.
;

other kind of artist, and their

number

small, I admit, never play the piece twice in


just the same way. They strive for the control
is

which gives absolute freedom of expression.

They realize how many forces react on the artupon the platform even the temperature!

ist

am

playing the Appassionata Sonata on


a sultry day, the passion may be somewhat
If I

Josef
milder than

Hofmann

would be

it

if

25

the temperature were

more bracing.
"It

is

of course necessary to plan a model


though the performance in pub-

in the studio,

lic may differ from it, as


ments of improvisation.

it

admits certain

higher artistic mastery, because


certain

limits

free,

ele-

This results in a
it

is

within

spontaneous, and per-

sonal.

"This freedom of interpretation presupposes


the artist's mind and taste to be so well trained
as to warrant him in relying on the inspiration
of the moment.

But back

of

it all

must be

his

I think I can say I


logical plan of action.
to
this
small
class
of pianists who yield
belong
to the inspiration of the moment
the composition at the piano.

and improvise

TAKING RISKS
is to play with freedom and inspirone
must strike out boldly and not hold
ation,
back in timidity or bashfulness; these are bad

"If one

faults.

who

We

fear to

sometimes see people in society

make a faux pas

here or there

so

and bore everybody, bethemselves.


uncomfortable
being very
The player must cast fear to the winds and
risk everything. He should be an absolutely
they hold back
sides

stiffly

Piano Masrtery

26

Second Series

and open avenue for the expression of


the emotional and spiritual meaning of the
music. When one can thus improvise the composition, it seems that the piano no longer
free

sounds like a piano. It has been said that when


Rubinstein played, the instrument did not

sound
stein,

As you have heard Rubinyou remember how different his piano


like

a piano.

sounded from the ordinary kind; like another


medium, or like a whole orchestra in

sort of

spite of the

many wrong notes. When playing

himself he often struck

wrong notes, yet in


he
was
teaching
very exact; he could not endure wrong notes or slips of any kind, in his
pupils or in himself.

He

risk!

But

in public he took the


false

was not troubled about the

only he could present the emotional


content of the music in the most compelling

notes

if

light.

"I heard Rubinstein play in Berlin, at


last concert there.

in

Moszkowski
his

sat beside

his

me.

Valse

Rubinstein,
Caprice,
playing
all but one of those treacherous high
skips. When he hit that solitary one correctly,

missed

Moszkowski turned to me and whispered,


humorously, 'We must excuse him, for he can't
see

any more.'

"

Josef

Hofmann

27

THE METRONOME
"I notice, Mr. Hofmann, that you have a
metronome standing here. In one of your answers to questions in the Ladies'
nal,, I believe you disapproved of

Home

Jour-

it."

"That was a misunderstanding. We cannot do without the metronome. It is the police-

man

may have

said not to play with metrorhythm cannot be ac-

nome, as a true sense of

quired in this way. But I never said not to


use one. On the contrary the metronome is
a necessity, for it gives us the correct idea of

tempo

in that capacity I use

it

frequently.

MODERN MUSIC

"What do
of

it

is

I think of modern music?

only

contortion;

Stravinsky

Some
and

Yet it is much
Schoenberg, for instance.
after
a
as
fad, nowadays, from curiossought
If one falls in a
ity, if for no other reason.
fit

on the street people run together, curious to


what has happened. What do they see?

see

Contortion!

The Stravinsky

ballet, recently

given at the Century, was fascinating in color,


movement and ensemble, but the music was

again

contortion.

28

Piano Mastery
THE PIANO

AS

Second Series

A MEANS OF EXPRESSION

"Absolute control of

means

in the performer's power does not belong alone to the


pianist, it may belong to the flute player, the
violinist or 'cellist.

sessed

by

the player

all

It should always be pos-

who would improvise

his

interpretations.

"The piano

the universal instrument, the


one independent medium. All other instruis

ments either require or are improved by an


accompaniment, even the voice. But the pianist stands alone, and controls everything.
He
can express every emotion, even despotism, by

means of

his instrument.

We

often say the

piano expresses
really know
it can say nothing at all without the pianist.
If he have many emotions and the ability to
all these,

when we

express them, the piano will do his bidding."

PLAYING WITH ORCHESTRA

"We regret you elect to give but one recital


in New York during the season."
"But I play a number of times with orchestra here. You have good ones in America.
"In assisting the artist the orchestra should
take the part of an accompaniment, and
although the conductor directs

it,

he should,

Josef

Hofmann

29

This the
for the time being, efface himself.
conductor of the New York Symphony is able

After we have played together

to do.

five

we come

to be in perfect accord.
soloist ought to play with his orchestra in
smaller places before appearing in the large

or six times,

cities if

he wishes his ensemble to be at

"Yes, I

am

a co-worker with

its best.

Godowsky on

the Progressive Series of Piano Lessons. It


is slow and tedious business, this editing of the

various pieces required. Every finger mark


and sign of phrasing must be absolutely correct.

piece.

It

"After
the
is

me

It takes

work

is

my

summer

there,

several hours to edit a short


fit

for a schoolmaster.

we
how
Ah,

touring season,

in

Maine.

by the

sea!

I love

it.

shall

spend

beautiful

Of

it

course

wherever I am, my time is fully taken up. In


summer I exchange the rush of travel, the
catching of trains, for the repose and quiet
of a vacation by the sea. That is when I work

on

my

programs and prepare the various

concertos I

am

to play the following season."

Ill

GUIOMAR NOVAES
THE GIFT OF MUSIC

THE

most dazzling meteor that shot across

the pianistic sky during the past season 1916


was the young Brazilian pianist, Guiomar

Novaes. We were quite unprepared for such


an apparition; we had heard nothing of her;
she came unheralded. In a season filled to the
brim with the greatest piano playing the world
can produce, she came and conquered by
sheer force of genius.
The marvel of it! Such a talent in a family
where neither the parents nor any of the eigh-

teen other children showed any special musical inclination. Hers is surely a gift straight

out of Heaven!

Many
how

of us are familiar with the story of


a girl developed her gifts, first

this slip of

in her

own country and

then in Paris, where

place over 388 contestants, in


the entrance examinations of the Conservashe took

toire.

first

At

that examination her performance


so

Guiomar Novaes
of Schumann's Carneval

was

31

so unusual in

the mastery of technic, so poetic in interpretation as to greatly impress the jury, composed

Faure and other

of Debussy, Moszkowski,
distinguished musicians.

The young

was about fourteen when


Paris, and began her studies

girl

she arrived in

with Professor Philipp, at the Conservatoire.


At the end of the second year she received the
first

honor, a Premier Price

After

came many engagements to play


London, Switzerland, Germany, and

this

in Paris,
Italy,

du Conservatoire.

which she

filled

with ever-increasing suc-

cess.

Then came two years

at

home

in Brazil,

which she spent resting, working, thinking,


growing and ripening, but playing little in
Late in the year 1915 she and her
public.
mother came to New York, escorted by the
Brazilian

Ambassador from Washington.

"I think

American

time for her to begin her


career," he remarked, after her first

New York

it

is

recital;

cantly, "I believe she

"and," he added

signifi-

ready for it,"


The young artist indeed proved herself
ready. Her first long and difficult program
revealed sentiment, power, passion and ripe
musicianship. Her success was immediate and
is

32

Piano Mastery
These

complete.

But who can put

Second Series

are, briefly, the

words the

into

mere

thrill,

facts.

the spell

of such playing as hers ? In London, when she


played there, it was chronicled: "She is one

After her

of the world's greatest pianists."

American appearance, Mr. Finck, in the


Evening Post, said of her: "She is the greatest woman pianist now before the public, and
even some of the men had better look to their
first

laurels."

Later, after her fourth triumphant

recital in the metropolis, the

same

critic

wrote

"Her tone

has the limpid purity and beauty


that the world adores in voices like Patti's or
Sembrich's or Caruso's; in runs these tones are
like strings of perfect pearls.
Miss Novae's

seems

to

heaven.

get

One

her

inspiration

has a feeling,

direct

when

from

she plays

were in long-distance telepathic communication with him as if he indeed were at the piano. And if her piece is by
Chopin, Schumann or some other master, it is
Beethoven, as if she

they

who apparently

are personally guiding

This is no hyperbole it is an impression,


which makes this girl one of the seven wonders

her.

of 'the musical world."

What

are the attributes in the performance


of this "superpianist" as she has been called;

what are the things that compel admiration,

'Guiomar Novaes

83

that enthrall alike the unskilled music lover,


the trained musician and the exacting critic?

If

we can

discover them, analyze

and reduce

them to tangible terms, we may be able to ap-

own

ply the principles to the profit of our


studies.

On the technical side we can study the


er's

manner

of tone production. Tone


through which the musical idea

medium
forth.
With Miss Novaes

playthe

is

is

set

the tone seems to

be produced by controlled relaxation. Much


is said and written about relaxation in these
days.

The kind

this girl possesses is plastic

and beautifully controlled. With the most


graceful movements of arm she forms and
molds the tone to such quality as she desires.
She plays with controlled weight, but it is
weight that is alive, vital, not lumbering and
"dead."

With

this condition of poise in

arm,

and hand, every tone she produces, from


feathery pianissimo to the utmost fortissimo,

wrist

has a searching, vibrant quality, a quality that

makes an instant appeal to the

listener.

Even

a single tone has the poignant quality that


makes a thrilling effect. She produces these
tones without apparent effort; yet they carry
a message quite apart from the studied phrases
of other pianists.

Piano Mastery

34

Second Series

Technic in her case is an "art in itself." No


problem seems too difficult; all are flawlessly
mastered.

Imagine strings of pearls, large


and small; in each string the pearls are exactly
the same size, round and perfect; such are her
Her glissandi ripple up and down the
scales.
keyboard with a perfect beauty and smoothness that the hand of no other pianist within
has surpassed. Her chords are full
The
rich, her trills like the song of birds.

memory
and

listener sits aghast at such absolute mastery,


and marvels where this girl has acquired such

consummate

technic.

He

marvels

still

more

at the interpretative genius, which seizes upon


the inherent meaning of the composition, finds
its poetic,

emotional message, and is able to


with such convincing, overwhelming

present it
conviction and appeal.
I have tried, in few words, to voice some of
the causes of Miss Novaes' mastery, some of

means by which she conquers the keyboard,


the music and our hearts, because I know she
could not do so herself. She could no more

the

explain

how

she does these things than a flower

bud can describe how it becomes a perfect rose.


She would only say: "Your praise may apply
to a great pianist, but I

Such

is

am not

a great artist."

her modesty and self-effacement,

Guiomar Novaes

We

must

let

35

Guiomar Novaes say some-

thing for herself, however; she will do so in a


pretty mixture of English and French, with
a few sentences of Spanish thrown in here and
there.
When she talks, one hardly knows
which to admire most, the pleasant voice and
smile, the dimples that play hide and seek in

her cheeks, or the artless sincerity of her


words.

"I began to play piano when I was four, by


listening and by picking out everything on the
piano by ear; I taught myself by the ear.
Sometimes it seems I learned to play before I
learned to speak; it is true I knew my notes
before I had mastered the letters of the
alphabet.

"When

I was six

my

studies really began.


I was placed with a most excellent teacher,
Professor Chiafarelle, an Italian musician.

With him

I learned a great deal, and began

to play in

Sao Paulo,

was

my home

city,

when I

ten.

"He was my

teacher seven years. Then our


Government sent me to Paris, where I was admitted to the Conservatoire, and became a

pupil of Isador Philipp for nearly four years.

Piano Mastery

36

Second Series

TECHNIC PRACTICE
"I practice about three to four hours every
day. I no longer practice the technic by itoutside of pieces, for there is so
technic in the pieces themselves, that I
self,

much

work
on that. But when I was a child I had to
work on technic and on all kinds of exercises
most industriously. I haven't time to do so
now, for there is so much music to learn.
"Yes, I play Bach much Bach, when I
have time, but not every day."

"Some

artists save their strength

by playing
Do you

with only half force during practice.


follow this course?" she was asked.

"No,
try to
sound.

in practice I use full

make

power; that

the piece sound as I want

is,

it

I
to

If I should play with a weak touch,


I would not get the sonore, how do you call

Ah, yes, the sound.


sound as I want it.

it?

I would not get the

MEMORIZING
"I really do not know how I memorize; it
I
the music.
all comes to me very quickly
very amusing to learn by heart. You
think I should not call it amusing you think
I should say interesting? Well, then, I think
find

it

Guiomar Novaes

37

very interesting to learn from memory. I


can do it away from the piano, by thinking
how the music looks when it is printed. I
it is

on the trains, when I am


When I was in Switzerland, I
traveling.
found I had to play the Beethoven G major
sometimes do

this

So I
Concerto, in Paris, in a short time.
in
learned it all by heart
fourteen days. It is
true I had played at it some at home in Brazil
;

now

I really had to learn it. The Bach


Organ Prelude and Fugue, transcribed by
Moor, which I played at my third New York
but

recital,

I learned in four days.

When

I did

was feeling very fresh and well rested, and


equal to the task. I might not always feel able
so I

to do

it

so quickly."

PUBLIC PLAYING

"Do you
she

was

really
asked.

enjoy playing in public?"

"Yes, I do like it. At a recital, I soon become so absorbed in what I am doing that I
quite forget the audience;

it is

as if the audi-

ence was not there; it does not exist for me.


I cannot say I always feel the same or play
the same. The piano may seem different, the
hall,

the audience, too, and

my mood."

Piano Mastery

38

"That

Second Series

what Josef Hofmann says

is

also," I

remarked.

"Ah, what a great, big artist Hofmann is!"


The dark eyes glowed with inward fire and
the dimples deepened. "I think he is so won-

He

Schelling is a big artist, too.


in
country, Brazillo, and had a
played
great success there."
derful.

my

MODERN MUSIC

"Do you

care for

modern music

Schoen-

berg, Stravinsky, Korngold or Ornstein?" she


was asked. The mention of these names awoke

no answering gleam in the calm, sweet face.


"I do not know the music you speak of,"
she said. "I shall play something of Bach arranged by Emanuel Moor. Moor has written
much some fine things for 'cello, which Casals
;

plays.

"You think I make good progress with English?

I have only studied

since I

came

to

New

it

York.

five

months, just

am

really sur-

prised at myself to-day, that I have had the


courage to speak to you in your own language.

Usually I speak French, as, naturally I know


much better than English."

that

IV

JOHN POWELL
"ART THE EXPRESSION OF LIFE"

AN American pianist and composer of indiJohn Powell, of


whom we have already heard a great deal, and
will surely hear much more as we become
familiar with his compositions and sit more
viduality

and

distinction

is

frequently under the spell of his beautiful

piano playing.
For the past two seasons Mr. Powell has
been heard in recitals throughout the country.

Those given

in

New York

have been on a high

plane of excellence. In fact, each program


performed revealed an increasing power and
eloquence of expression, more subtlety of insight, more command of the resources of the

and himself, more consummate


embodying the mental and spiritual

instrument
skill

in

message of the music.

Deeply impressed with these qualities in his


playing, I found opportunity to question Mr.
Powell about some particular aspects of pian-

40

Piano Mastery

ism, which

we were

Second Series

able to discuss at

some

length.

We

took up the technical side, as I


asked where he had acquired his technic.
first

"I studied with F. C. Hahr at home, before


going to Vienna. There I spent several years
with Leschetizky and worked terribly hard.
This marvelous old

Of

teacher.

stand him,

man was

a wonderful

course the student had to under-

had

his ideas.

to have the intelligence to

He did not care to be thought

grasp
to have a special method of technic, nor did he

often talk to the pupil on the technical side of


piano playing, unless he saw the need for it.

Then he could be most


tion

and

explicit as to

hand

other fundamental points.

posi-

Even

with pupils who had been with him some time,


if he noted any lapse or ineffectiveness, he

would come right down to first principles."


"I am well aware Leschetizky asserts he has
no method outside of loose wrists and firm nailjoints," I remarked.

"Back of

these

two

ideas,"

answered Mr.

the foundation principle concentration of will; if you have this concentra-

Powell,

"lies

you can accomplish what you desire. This


thought was the mainspring of Leschetizky 's

tion

John Powell

41

If the learner grasped the idea, he


could get a great deal from the master.
"For instance, the master would explain a
teaching.

and

principle to you,

could work

if

out; the

you saw

its

value you

manner

of the working
out might vary, but the idea remained the
same.
might take the subject of skips, let
it

He

You

wish to play a tenth or a twelfth.


He would tell you to place your thumb on C,
then make an arm movement which shall deus say.

scribe a curve,

to the note

up

you wish to

few
reach, touching but not depressing it.
slow movements of this kind will teach you
the arm sensations you have in reaching for
the note, and also
between the two.

how

to

When

measure the distance


this is

accomplished

you can play the skip with quickness and accuracy. So with large chords; the fingers are
prepared for them; the portrait of them so
to say

is

made

in the air, before the chords

are actually played.

TONE PRODUCTION
a principle I have been working
on for several years; it is one I consider very

"There

is

important, especially when applied to cantaIt is the pressure


bile, or melody playing.
necessary to produce a beautiful, singing tone.

42

Piano Mastery

Second Series

We are told that

as soon as the sound is produced on the piano, the tone begins to die.
Some thinkers advocate letting up all weight
on the key as soon as it has been sounded.
This would virtually necessitate a new attack
for each note. I find this idea has an injurious
effect on the tone quality.
far better way
is to transfer the weight pressure from one

finger to another, by slight elevation of wrist


and aid of arm; for the latter is but the tube

through which the

fluid flows

so to speak.

The violinist, in melody playing, does not relax his pressure on the string or his firmness
on the bow, because the tone has sounded,
neither does the singer relax the diaphragm.

Why should not the same

principle hold good


on the piano? I know that it does and that I
am able to produce a more and more beautiful
tone as I succeed in applying this principle
more perfectly.

DAILY TECHNIC
"I believe in technical exercises outside of
pieces, in fact I feel them to be a necessity,
and do a certain amount daily. At this moment I have not been able to touch the piano
for several days, not since my last recital.
Therefore, I should need to exercise my fingers

John Powell
and get them

in

43

running order, before attempt-

ing to play anything at all, for the same reason that a piece of machinery must be oiled to

be

fit

for use.

necessary, too, to have a


as well as a sound mind, if one
It

is

healthy body
wishes to do anything great in music or any
other branch of art." In this connection Mr.

Powell had much to say of the Fresh Air Art


Society, which he considers a most important
movement in the world of allied arts. We then
discussed the part played

by the mind

in musi-

cal delivery.

THE MIND IN PLAYING


"During the actual performance of a composition, what are the mental processes involved?" I asked.

"I feel the mind must be wholly occupied


with the meaning of the music its emotion and
content should be lived through, during a performance of it. This is far removed from any
;

consideration of the audience as listeners

what they are thinking about or whether the


player is making a telling effect on them. If

we can hold

ourselves in this highly wrought,


exalted state, we will be unconscious of the

audience.

We

will

even be quite unconscious

of the keys our fingers are touching, for

we

Piano Mastery

44

Second Series

are only thinking of portraying ideas, feelings,


emotions.
To reach this state of conscious-

we must know

the notes of the composition with absolute certainty in order to be obness,

Piano playing does not con-

livious of them.

merely of setting keys in motion; it is far


beyond all that; it is an exemplification of inner experience, of life itself. For I hold that
sist

the expression of life.


"The mental state of the player during performance depends on his attitude towards
art

is

music itself and the way he has studied it.


There seem to be three stages in the learning
of a composition. First to read it through as
though it were a book; second to study it in
detail; lastly, to get at the

meaning and

live

through the experiences which caused those


notes to be written and the composition to
spring into being.

say to a student: 'In six


months you will study a certain composition;
look it through now and become familiar with

"Leschetizky

it
it

may

amuse yourself with it later we will study


And if you merely read over
seriously.'
;

the composition frequently enough, either at


the piano, or as you would read a book, away

from the instrument, you will, almost unconsciously, come to know the notes quite well.

John Powell

45

After this comes the study in detail, and finally


that wonderful assimilation of content which

makes the work a part of your very being and


The artist holding such an ideal of interlife.
pretation, can,

when

able to forget himself

and

his surroundings, give an inspired performance.

"Such concentration as this is far and away


removed from reciting the notes of the composition while playing it, or 'following it' in
If we long to
solfege, as some recommend.

express the inner emotion and feeling of the


piece, we want to get away from mere mechanical memory, even to get away from those bits

of ivory, which seem to

hamper our flights of


we
must, perforce, have such
though

thought,
accurate knowledge of them.

MUSIC CAN EXPRESS DEFINITE IDEAS


"I hold that music can depict definite ideas
and emotions. I have made many experiments with adults and children, even with animals.
young nephew of mine, who had never
heard any of Wagner's music, listened to some
of the motives I played for him, and tried to
put into words their meaning, and what the
themes describe, as he felt them. He often
hit the mark with wonderful exactness, though

Second Series

Piano Mastery

46

the words and descriptions were often crude.


Music is called a language, a means of self-

We are all musicians in this sense


even composers. We can compose music
by the tones of our voices in speech. We can
expression.

cause the same sentence to have


ings

by using various

"As

I said a

many mean-

inflections of voice.

moment ago

I feel the com-

poser has a definite idea in writing his work,


that

expresses certain thoughts, feelings,


emotions. It is for the interpreter to discover
it

what these

are.

He

can do

this if it

be true

that music really expresses a definite idea.


is discovered, the interpreter should

When this
feel in

ing

playing what the composer

felt in writ-

in order to adequately express his

it,

How

ing.

meanof an

many-sided the inner life


How wide his knowledge, how

artist

must be

keen

his sympathies!
The artist must begin
in his own soul. Life is the principal

within
thing.
use to

It
sit

some

do.

there

is

say to

is

a training of the

spirit.

Of what

at the piano fifteen hours a day, as


That will not make an artist, if

nothing within to express. I long to


Don't spend all the time in piano

them

practice; don't shirk responsibilities; don't be

a recluse.
life.

Mingle with others;

Live bigly

Live!"

discipline

is

John Powell

47

"Only music which is great enough to express real feeling and emotion is worth the
learning or the effort to interpret. I do not
waste time over what is not entirely worthy."

HIS COMPOSITIONS

In the field of composition, Mr. Powell has


worked mostly in the larger forms, although he
is the author of a number of songs.
Of the
former there are three sonatas and two concertos for piano; a concerto for violin, also a
sonata for violin and piano. He has written

a couple of piano suites, entitled, respectively,

"In the South" and "At the Fair;" also a set


of variations and double fugue on a theme by
F. C. Hahr, his former teacher.
choral
work in oratorio form treats the church service

dramatically,

its

author explains.

THE "SONATA TEUTONICA"


There are comparatively few American composers who have put out works in the sonata

We

are familiar with the great Four


of MacDowell, or at least some of us are. As

form.

yet

we have not produced many composers

who have

the gifts as well as the learning to


cope successfully with this greatest of instru-

48

Piano Mastery

Second Series

mental forms, so we need not wonder at the


small number of such works produced.
That a sonata by a native composer has

had a hearing in New York, is an event


of importance worth recording.
When this
the
work
to
be
an epoch-makhearing proved
on
built
broad
of
one,
lines,
ing
deep and siglately

nificant content, the event gave cause for sincere satisfaction.

The event referred to was the hearing of


John Powell's Sonata Teutomca, played before the MacDowell Club, in April, 1916. This
was the first performance of the work in
it had been given twice in
on
March 7th, 1914, when
London, namely
Benno Moiseiwitsch, the admired Russian
pianist, played it in Bechstein Hall and again
in June of same year, on which occasion it was

America, though

rendered by the composer himself.

At

the

MacDowell Club Mr. Powell

pre-

ceded his performance by a short talk, in


which he explained the structure of the work,
the ideas embodied in
bolism.

He

it, its

meaning and symfrom the de-

also read quotations

scriptive pamphlet,

prepared by the English


Mr. Powell's mas-

writer Richard Brockwell.

work vividly set forth


and deeply moved his hearers. They

terly performance of his


its spirit,

John Powell
felt

tous

49

the event to be most unusual and portenthat they were privileged to listen to an
;

original composition of large dimensions and


pregnant meaning, set forth in a truly inspired

manner.

In going over the work subsequently with


the composer, he said in part
"In naming the work Sonata Teutonica,
I had in mind not a country or a race of people,
:

but rather the spirit of aspiration, the desire

and effort to achieve something high and noble,


which binds together in one bond of unity all
the great souls of the ages. This spirit of Oneness links the great of the past, and descends
through the philosophers, poets, musicians,
sculptors and painters of every country, down
to us to-day. The Idea of Oneness, taken in
this sense, is to me wonderful and beautiful; I
have pondered it deeply, and have tried to voice
it

in this composition.

The conception has

oc-

cupied my thought for years before I ever began to write the music, into the composition
of which I have put four years of my life."

THE MOTTO OF THE SONATA


"The Motto of
in the drop, as the

'The ocean is
in the ocean,' seems

the Sonata:

drop

is

to convey a sense of oneness

and harmony. Or,

Second Series

Piano Mastery

50

same thought

to put the

Sonata

is

in the

in another

Movement

as the

form; 'The

Movement

is

in the Sonata.'

THREE MOVEMENTS

"The Sonata has

three movements, which

may be designated in this way: First, The


Ideal; Second, The Temperamental; Third,
The Actual. In other words, Part One typifies

the emotional effect of the idea of oneness ;

Part Two, the universal Teutonic Temperament (this in a symbolic and not a racial
sense) Part Three, triumphant result of this
principle, acting on this nature, in the world
;

of outer activity.
"First Movement

Our first
Allegro.
the Motive of Oneness, the second is
the Song Theme. As these unfold and inter-

theme

is

twine, we come to the Motive of Victory, which


also reappears in the last movement. In the
first

ecy.

takes the form of a prophcoda expresses the attainment of the

movement,

The

it

sense of Oneness, and the whole ends softly, in


ethereal harmonies.

"Second Movement: Andante, is a set of


Variations on a Folk Theme. This second division

of

namely,

the

work comprises four

Variations,

Fugue,

Scherzo

parts,

and

John Powell

51

Finale. The effort has been, however, to preserve unity throughout all four parts. There
One
is considerable variety in the Variations.

Beethoven was fond of


using the country dance, so was Schubert;
Wagner has done so in his Meistersinger. In
is

a merry Landler.

the

Fugue we

see the action of the various

temperamentally considered. The harmonies are dark and sinister the gloom of morforces,

mind

struggles with the spiritual, in writhing progressions, which threaten to obliterate


the higher nature, but fail utterly, for the matal

terial is

put down and the spiritual gains the

ascendant.

Movement:
Marcia, in Rondo
Form. The Theme of Triumph is a victorious
"Third

announcement of the Theme of Oneness, which


later rises to a chorale-like climax ; the

Theme

of Oneness, predominating over the other harmonies, brings the work to a powerful and ma-

This last movement occupies fourteen minutes, the first sixteen and the middle
jestic close.

movement

thirty- two, for performance."


Musicians who have heard the Sonata have
expressed their admiration in words of high
Some have called it great, vital, a
praise.
stupendous, epoch-making work.

The composer was asked

if

he would, like

52

Piano Mastery

MacDowell, continue
works of this form.

Second Series
to

express himself in

"How

can I?" he answered. "I have said


all I have to say in this; further expression
along the same line would be only repetition.
I have put my heart's blood into this; it is a
reflection of my deepest thought and experience, of

my

highest aspiration.

it

may be pardoned

a suggestion,
could be wished that Mr. Powell had chosen
If the writer

The one selected


requires much explanation to make it seem suitable to the spirit of the music. Even with the
another

title

for his work.

composer's elucidation, the term leaves the lay


mind somewhat mystified. "Eternal Unity,"

"The Triumph

of the Ideal,"

are a few of the

titles

as

embodying more of the

of the music.

"The Universe,"

which suggest themselves,


spirit

and meaning

ARTHUR SHATTUCK
THE PIANIST SHOULD CULTIVATE MANY
SIDES OF ART

To any one

fortunate enough to have oppor-

tunity for observation and comparison, the


hands of the various pianists prove an ex-

and at the same time


a psychological study. There are so many
kinds, from the broad, plump hand, fullfleshed and muscular, all the way to the slender, sinewy hand, the embodiment of nervous
ceptionally interesting

As

the artist-teacher so frequently


remarks concerning his pupils, "All hands are

energy.

different," so

it

may

be said of the

themselves, namely, that the


artist is unlike every other.

artists

hand of each

A musician

who

once grasped the hand of Rubinstein reported


that it seemed as soft and pliable as though
there were absolutely no bones in it.
This remark occurred to me as I greeted

Arthur Shattuck, the American pianist; I felt


such a description would apply equally to him.
53

54

Piano Mastery

Second Series

In appearance his hand recalls the model of


Chopin's hand the same long, flexible fingers,
the same sensitive ability to expand which en;

abled the Polish master to accomplish those


wide stretches which appear so constantly in
his compositions.

Mr. Shattuck calls his hand "too flexible."


"It is more difficult," he says, "to strengthen
and solidify a soft, flexible hand than to limber up and make supple a firmly knit one. I
have done a great deal for my hand by means
of the right sort of practice. In short, I have
worked very hard for what I have achieved,
and am not at all ashamed to say so, or to
admit the fact. Pianists who have reached
a great eminence in their art often let it be
thought they were not obliged to labor for
such a result; they give the impression there
is

little

truth

is

need for them to practice, when the


they spend many hours daily in hard

work.
"I believe in a certain amount of technical
practice outside of compositions, as well as in
the making of technical material out of difficult portions of them. I give a certain amount
of time daily to pure technic study, using
many combinations of double notes in all kinds

of forms.

am

old-fashioned enough to

make

'Arthur Shattuck

55

use of scales and arpeggios, and to believe in


slow practice. Too much slow practice, however, I feel

is

a mistake; activity

essential, and, aside

from certain

just as
exercises, the

use of a very heavy touch should be

is

made with

discretion.

"My student days were

spent in Vienna, for


I was with Leschetizky a number of years.
Those were years filled with many delightful
experiences.

I can also say I have witnessed

some poignant scenes in the studio. It almost seemed as though there were three distinct personalities in the master.
On some
he
would
be
harsh, critical, exacting; at
days
other times indifferent, and sometimes in rare
good humor. When in such a benign mood,
the sun shone and all was serene in the studio,
for he approved of everything which was
played.

"The master had two grand pianos in his


musical work room; he always sat at one to
make corrections and illustrate the passage
under discussion. Of course he did not want
the student to sit quietly and merely absorb
his instructions in silence.

tive interest,
tions,

He

expected ac-

minute attention to

his illustra-

and plenty of questions asked,

The

56

Piano Mastery

Second Series

soon apprehended these conditions


and, if wise, complied with them.
"When one has been for a long time a
good many years with one master, even
though he be the greatest in the world, there
comes a time when the student must learn to
student

go alone; he must work out his own salvation


must find himself. It is then necessary to
hear all the music possible, piano, violin and
song recitals, and above all the opera. In this
way he becomes broadened and matured.

"To

return to the subject of piano pracI believe the attention should at all times
be alert, thoroughly occupied with the matter
tice.

Even if only making slow movements with single fingers, one must entirely
concentrate on the effort.
The mind must
in hand.

work

as well as the fingers.

The

piece

must

be learned thoroughly, every note. If a small


passage, or even a single note is mentally unclear, this

may

seen moment.

must be
finds

fresh.

it difficult

cause disaster at some unfore-

To

accomplish this the mind


For if one is fatigued and

to concentrate,

ter to stop for a while, take


to the window.

"I

am

it is

much

bet-

up a book, or go

a thorough believer in the Virgil

Practice Clavier as an assistant to serious

Arthur Shattuck

57

study. I always carry a clavier with me, not


only for technical work but for the practice of

When

taking a long journey by


rail or water, I have it set up in my stateroom,
where I can work undisturbed. I could tell
repertoire.

many amusing experiences which have occurred during my travels with this instrument. On one occasion, in a little French village, several men carried it on their shoulders
of

from the railway station to the hotel. As they


walked through the main street, the bystanders
stood respectfully in line and crossed themselves as it passed. At another time, in Norway, when I appeared with my clavier, I was
told the hotel was full, but I could lodge in
a stable or outhouse. After many persuasive
arguments I at
prietor that

my

convinced the hotel probaggage was harmless by inlast

ducing him to look inside the suspicious looking box. When he found it did not contain
dynamite or anything of a murderous nature,
he allowed me to enter the hotel and gave me
the best rooms in the house.

".With the clavier I also

make use

of the

metronome.

"You

ask about memorizing piano music.

I have found the surest and best

complish this

is

with solfege

way

to ac-

reciting the syl-

Piano Mastery

58

Second Series

lables of the tonic sol fa

system as I play the

You are, of course, acMr. Wager Awayne's manner

notes of the piece.

quainted with

of doing this; I think his ideas on the subject


are wonderful.

"One word

as

to interpretation.

When

it as a singer would
and
the
where
do,
phrase
singer would breathe.
Study your music away from the piano; it is
amazing how quickly you get at the form and
shape; you can hear it mentally, undistracted
by physical contact with keys. Form a decided idea of passage or piece, though it may
vary from time to time."
Mr. Shattuck believes in the many-sidedness of art and its study, and has developed

playing a melody, deliver

himself along other

lines.

He

delights

in

drawing and painting and has made many


sketches of out-of-the-way places.
He has
traveled all over the world and played in coun-

seldom if ever visited by musical artists.


few years ago it occurred to him that, as

tries

no pianist had ever toured Iceland, such a


trip might be well worth the taking. His tour
in that country proved to be both interesting
and profitable. Later he visited Egypt, and
after a series of concerts in the land of the
Khedive, he secured a caravan and passed sev-

Arthur Shattuck
eral

months on an

59

oasis in the Sahara.

The

transporting of a grand piano into the desert


land attracted no little attention. The idea
of being alone with his piano in the desert
appealed to the pianist, and he found it a

splendid place to practice.

He says

spoke to me as I walked
soft-footed through the sand; the pure night
wind spoke the language of the universe.
Here and there yellow lights, from a distant
camp, flashed out like fireflies; now and then
a silent, swift-footed Arab could be seen, stealing along among the shadows, reminding one
of the fabled woman who haunts the Sphinx.
Far away the Great Pyramid seemed to float
between the desert sand and the cloudless sky,
as though the golden palace of Aladdin was
:

"The

stars

being transported through the air by the


Genie of the lamp. For a pianist with a vivid
imagination, and a real desire to work, it was
an ideal place to study. Practice amid such

surroundings was not work, only pleasure."


An artist with such an environment should
be able to weave the subtle influences about

him

into marvelous tonal coloring

He

on

his in-

surely could picture the barbaric splendor of some passing cavalcade, the
gold of those burning sands under the blaze

strument.

60

Piano Mastery

Second Series

of noon, the witchery of moonlit nights; he


could saturate himself with color and atmosphere, steep himself in the magic which would
illumine the pages of the Liszt
Minor So-

nata, or the various

Hungarian Rhapsodies.

VI

LEOPOLD GODOWSKY
THE LAWS GOVERNING TECHNIC AND
INTERPRETATION
ago, when Leopold Godowsky was
a resident of America or was it when he was

YEARS

making his first tour here? I remember vividly on one occasion studying his pianistic
work from a position of vantage almost directly over the piano, when he played with
the orchestra under Theodore Thomas.
I
noted

many

things about his playing then, be-

sides the ease, fluency

and dynamic

effects,

which belong, of course, to every pianist's


equipment. One of the principal points which
struck me was the absolute precision with
which everything was accomplished. Chords
especially were prepared through the fingers
taking form

in the air

of the arrangement

of keys and intervals, and then descending on


the group, or gripping them, as the case de-

manded. That is to say, the fingers and hand


were prepared and made ready for the chord
61

62

Piano Mastery

Second Series

was played, so that each tone had


its place and value in the chord
group. Sinwere
tones
also
and
gle
prepared
fingers made
before

it

ready to take the key before the arm descended; arms and hands were slanted for
scales and arpeggios;
and well articulated.

all

was

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

clean-cut, exact

UNKNOWN

Since those days the pianist has, through


constant study and effort of thought, risen to
a more exalted height. Technical mastery and

few possess, have been won.


Technical difficulties do not exist for him. All
gradations of tone, from powerful crescendi to
perfection, such as

fine-spun pianissimi of gossamer delicacy, are


alike delivered without trace of effort. There

can be no question about the consummate perfection which molds and permeates everything
he touches.
"The deep things of our art," says the master, "are little understood by general students
of the piano. The great artist is an autocrat,
a monarch his work can only make appeal to
the few; they alone can understand. That this
;

should be so

ment and

lies

its

in the character of the instru-

music.

The piano

perhaps the greatest instrument

is

we

a marvel,
have.

It

63

Leopold Godowsky
is

so intimate, yet so impersonal.

The

singer

must be supplemented by an accompanist, and


can only sing one note at a time. The violinist can at best play but two notes at a time
and he also must be assisted. The pianist, on
the other hand, comes unaided before his audience he alone must speak, for he has the field
;

to himself.

He

must make

clear his

meaning
on a more or less responsive medium of wood
and metal he must revivify the signs and symbols which are to paint the mood or picture.
He must translate thought and feeling into
tones he must express what is subtle and deep,
;

yet too intangible to put into words.

Where

language ends music begins.


"Among those who play the piano, we have
almost every variety of exposition. There are
some whose deep learning leads them to be
philosophers; others feel called to be preachThen we have the refined
ers of their art.
poets, the dramatic players, the causseurs, the
entertainers, or those who have such high animal spirits that they exemplify a wild pony
galloping over the plains." The speaker mentioned examples of each of these varieties
among the artists now before the public.

64

Piano Mastery

Second Series

VARIETY OF TREATMENT AND AIM

"We

need to consider what a

at before

we judge

him.

man

is

aiming

causseur cannot

measure up to the standard of the philosopher,


yet he may be most excellent in his line. It
is
is

seen that comparisons are not possible. It


'Who is the greatest?' as is so

futile to ask,

The

public does not understand


these distinctions therefore, as I said, the truly

often done.

speaks to the few who can unThis condition will doubtless exist

artist

great
derstand.

for hundreds of years to come. And when,


eventually, the masses do understand, the artist

must

also advance, so as to be always to the


fore, always above the rest, to uplift others,

for his calling

is

a very high one.

PIANO METHODS

"As

to so-called piano methods I feel it necessary to look deeper than method in order to
find the underlying principles.
Perhaps the

most important principle of all one that I


have been elucidating for many years is relaxation. This is not the same as devitalization, which, if used indiscriminately and to exRelaxed weight on
cess, is very detrimental.
the key differs

from the old pressure touch,

Leopold Godowsky

65

which tended to stiffen muscles and make the


touch rigid. The finger rests with easy arm
weight on the key. If more power is desired
use more weight, if less hold back some of the
weight.

FINGER ACTION

"You

I approve of finger action, and


must have that; we canfinger lifting?
not throw it away. Wide, free movements are
ask

if

We

necessary to develop the fingers, to stretch the


skin and flesh between them, to render the hand

and its playing members supple and flexible.


So we must be able to raise the fingers and
move them freely."

"You

refer to the early stages of piano

study?"

"Not only during the

early stages, but at


I consider these large, free move-

any time.
ments and decided action of

fingers as a necJust as one exer-

essary kind of gymnastics.


cises the body with all sorts of gymnastics, so
we need well-articulated finger movements. I

make a

distinction, however,

between the me-

chanics of piano study and the art of piano


technic.
To the former belong all forms of
culture, finger training and gymnastic
pxercises. To the latter all the finer qualities

hand

66

Piano Mastery

Second Series

of touch, tone, fingering, phrasing, pedaling,


agogics and nuance. Each one of these technical divisions

is

an art in

itself.

"When

these are thoughtfully considered,


as being necessary for the equipment of the
player, it is easily seen why there are so few
really great artists among the
before the public as pianists.

many who come


For

it is

a com-

paratively easy thing to learn how keys are


manipulated, to attain speed, be able to make

a crescendo here, a diminuendo there, to accent, to copy more or less perfectly the notes

and marks

in a composition. Almost any one


can do these things with sufficient study. But

An artist

make an artist far from


worthy the name is only evolved

after minute

and exhaustive study added to

these things do not


it.

musical gifts of high order.

"There have been musicians, like Liszt and


Rubinstein, who were so gifted that the lack
of exact knowledge did not prevent them from
winning the world. Rubinstein was a child
of impulse as well as genius; he never did
things twice the same way; he relied on the
inspiration of the moment, and one might say
the same of Liszt. The art of piano playing
has developed into a more exact science since
their day.

Leopold Godowsky

67

ART OF PHRASING

"Among

the things I have mentioned as

belonging to the art of technic,


first
is
is

of phrasing.

The

we

will

speak

question of phrasing

of exceeding importance, for phrasing itself


a great art. At the present time we know

much more about these


known even fifty years ago.
so

was
comFormerly

things than

posers put few marks on their music; there


little or no punctuation.
Look at Rubin-

was

stein's compositions, for instance.

said that

It

von Biilow was one of the

formulate the laws of phrasing.

may

be

first to

Christianas

book on this subject is an interesting study,


also one by Mathais Lussy. Perhaps the best
book on music itself and its performance, at
least the best I have ever seen, is by Adolph
Kullak, a brother of Theodore Kullak. This
is a learned and exhaustive work.
The earlier
edition has been translated into English; the
revised edition

is still,

I believe, in the original

German.
"In the matter of phrasing, Beethoven was
considered very particular, Chopin also, but
neither

do now.

knew

as

Von

much about

the subject as

we

Biilow did a great work in editYet Klind-

ing and phrasing Beethoven.

68

Piano Mastery
who

worth,

Second Series

also edited the master,

subtler in his readings.

is

perhaps

You remember

that

von Billow himself gave preference to Klindworth's over his own edition, by advising students to use that of his friend.
worth's

work

for

Of Klind-

Chopin I cannot speak so

He

has changed so many things from


highly.
the original that it is not always clear just
what the composer really meant.
What

Klindworth should have done in many cases


was to put the changes in footnotes and leave
the music of the original as it was written.

ART OF FINGERING
"Another branch of piano technic

is

finger-

Before Bach's time, as


the
thumb
was not used at all.
know,
he advised its use, it was not to be em-

ing, also a fine art.

we

all

When

ployed on the black keys. Fingering, like


everything else in piano playing, has been an
the fingering of the C scale,
which seems so natural, was not known until
evolution.

Even

Dussek thought of it. Chopin made great use


of thumb on black keys. Von Biilow believed
in

much changing

use of

all.

make
They evi-

of fingers in order to

So did Klindworth.

dently desired to make things difficult instead


of easy. It can readily be seen that the use

69

Leopold Godowslty

thumb on black keys must throw the hand


out of position, tend to make the movement
jerky, and force the hand nearer the nameof

board, where leverage is heavier. I believe in


avoiding the use of thumb on black keys when
possible, in order to keep the hand in a more
natural position; this idea seems to me easier

and more

logical.

SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE

"We

hear

much

and obThese terms

talk of subjective

jective in musical interpretation.

are apt to be misleading.

Pianists look at the

subject from different viewpoints, according


The imto their temperaments and aims.
pulsive nature takes the composition as it
appears to him, without further analysis,
strives to preserve that conception.

to the present

moment

Under extremely
ance.

an

and

trusts

to furnish inspiration.

favorable circumstances he

be able to give a really inspired perform-

may
may

He

first

Without these conditions his utterances


all glow and power. Rubinstein was

lack

illustration of this style.

"On

the other hand, the careful analytical


player, who does not trust to first impressions, who studies every point and determines

beforehand exactly

how he will render the com-

70

Piano Mastery

position,
us cold.

Second Series

may lack true inspiration and leave


Von Biilow might be cited as a player

of this type. The ideal interpreter is one who,


keeping before him the first ideal, has thought

out every effect and nuance he wishes to make,


yet leaves himself mentally untrammeled, to

be moved by the inspiration which


to

may come

him during performance.

TONE COLOR AND AGOGICS


"These subjects are

vitally

important in

What

dynamics are to the


piano playing.
tone, agogics are to time and rhythm; this
is the new term for the old one of tempo rubato. Rubato means "robbed," which is again
misleading, for it says nothing about giving.
If we take away, we must return, to even
things up; the new term expresses this better

than the old.


"In order to have every note, every phrase
clear, we must not run them all together, as
the Germans sometimes make a long combined word extend across the page. If you

open an English book you see each work separated from its neighbor by a slight space. Just
so

we

make the musical thought


by the way we make it stand

learn to

or

in
phrase clear
relation to other phrases; the right distance

Leopold Godovosky

71

between them; it is the flexibility of rhythm,


one might say, where everything is in artistic
relation and balance."

LEGATO MELODY PLAYING

"Do you consider a legato melody is just


as successfully connected with the pedal as
with the fingers?" he was asked.
"By no means," was

the

quick reply;
can be used for special effects. The
relaxed weight of hand on the key, the transference of weight from finger to finger, the
condition of the hand in connecting a legato
melody is very different from that of the hand
lifted between each note; the tone has a difIf a passage is marked
ferent quality also.
legato, I insist on its being played with that

"though

it

If chords are written in quarter, half


or whole notes, I want them held in full time.
touch.

One thing

is

unendurable

hand before the

For

to hear the left

right, constantly

appoggiat-

appoggiated chords, if the


waved line only extends the length of each
chord, both hands are played simultaneously.
If one long waved line connects the two chords,
ing.

the left

real

hand plays

first,

followed by the right.

72

Piano Mastery

Second Series

THE "PROGRESSIVE

SERIES"

"The Progressive Series of Piano Lessons,


with which I have been occupied for a number of years, in conjunction with a number of

well-known

artists,

course for teachers.

provides an eight-year
Besides this there are, in

resume of the entire subject, the


pith of the whole matter.
Although the
courses are nominally finished, I have about
six years more work on compositions to be
used with them."
conclusion, a

On

a subsequent occasion Mr. Godowsky


was seen just before leaving for a Pacific

We

Coast tour.
were soon in animated discussion, which lasted for an hour and would
have extended much longer had not time
pressed. Mr. Godowsky is a thorough master of English and expressed himself with flu-

ency and exactness.

As we had

discussed the technical problems

of piano playing during a previous conference, I requested the pianist to go further and
give his ideas on interpretation.
"One of the means, or perhaps

it

should be

said the backbone, of interpretation is technic.


I place technic on a higher plane than median-

Leopold Godowsky

73

Others combine the two I differentiate


between them. Technic is the means of exism.

pression, the medium through which we give


out the music. I believe that each pianist presents a certain mental type, which is revealed

performance; one is a poet, another a philosopher, a third an orator or even


a stump orator, and so on. For some it is

through

his

what they feel others are


and
not
reticent,
given to showing emothey rather repress it and seem to stand

possible to express

more
tion;

Some

are ready to reveal everything;


they are the ones who are popular with the
do not say of these players that
public.
aloof.

We

they 'descend to the public,' for they merely


work out their natural temperament; they are
one with the public,, therefore they never fail
to please. Those who have the highest ideals
move in a realm apart ; they never become popular in the above sense. Men who have made

the greatest scientific discoveries are generally unknown to the world.

FACTORS OF INTERPRETATION

"The two great factors in interpretation are


Logic and Proportion. If you examine a
Greek statue you find it perfect in classic form
and line.
Its proportions are faultless.

Piano Mastery

74

Among
amples
Brahms.

Second Series

the composers the most perfect exof proportion are Beethoven and

They

are the Greeks of musical

art.

"These two qualities logic and proportion


must dominate the thought of the interpreter
also
he must express them in his work. In
just the degree that he lacks them will his
performance fall short of beauty and expressiveness.

"Some

players might be called pianists of


the piano. The instrument itself is paramount
with them rather than the music. The piano
itself

stands

first

with them.

They

will

make

all possible effects that are legitimate within


the scope of the instrument, but never strive

something it is not. De Pachmann,


Griinfeld and Sauer are of this type. Busoni,

to

make

it

on the other hand, does not entertain

He

this view.

so great, such a deep, profound thinker,


such a philosopher; he is a class by himself.
is

For him

the piano often represents the organ.


See his transcriptions of the Bach organ com-

positions.

He

interprets

much pedal and

them

in this style,

great tonal sonority.


As organ tones in a cathedral resound and reverberate, owing to the vast spaces, so are the

with

Leopold Godowsky
effects

Busoni makes on the piano

ous tone-vibrations."
"The piano is a wonder; there
think of and study about it and

75
of continu-

is

its

so

much

to

marvelous

I have found pianists generally are


deeper thinkers than singers, for exam-

literature.

much

ple," I remarked.

"Singers do not analyze their work as pianIf one has a beautiful voice, the mere

ists do.

quality of tone will enthrall the listener, outside of the song to be interpreted.
If the

singer merely vocalize a scale, it is still beautiful and appealing. But the pianist must do

things besides merely playing the


notes before he can make an appeal. He must
consider tone quality, dynamics, pedaling,
so

many

power and the whole concept of the piece.


"You speak of the word pianism. The
word as used now includes, I take it, the entire subject of touch, technic, tone and performance. How odd that a word affects so-

new disease! All hasten to acquire


The word pianism is the only one that

ciety like a
it.

can be applied to an instrument outside of the


human voice. You can say vocalism, but not
violinism.

Second Series

Piano Mastery

76

THE
"The

A CONDUCTOR

PIANIST

pianist is virtually a conductor,

and

his ten fingers are the instruments over which


he holds sway. They are to do his bidding.

He

has a whole orchestra under his hands.

The

orchestral conductor merely directs his


men; the pianist must both direct his whole

and play all


the fingers. His task
orchestra

his various instruments,


is

than that of any other

"Then

a more strenuous one

soloist.

the literature of the piano.

When

you think of it, no other instrument has the


literature of the piano. Has there ever been
a composer like Chopin for any instrument?
The greatest composers for violin were Vieux-

temps and Wieniawski; but

their

work

can-

not compare in value to what Chopin has done


for the piano. He wrote solely for that one
the poet of the piano. Look
at Beethoven; he did more for the piano than
for any other instrument. He composed nine

medium; he

is

symphonies for orchestra and thirty-two sosonata, as you know, is a


symphony for one instrument. His last five
sonatas are greater than anything he ever
wrote for orchestra. The Opus 57, Appas-

natas for piano.

sionata,

is

a superb symphony.

His

last

sym-

77

Leopold Godowsky

phonies, outside of the Ninth, the greatest,


are not equal to the last five piano sonatas
in value.

chestra; he

for that
ugliness.
pare in

Berlioz wrote principally for ormay be called the first romanticist

medium. I call him the apostle of


His works for orchestra cannot comvalue to what either Beethoven or

Chopin has given to the

literature of the piano.

PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION

"To come down

to

more

explicit

terms in

regard to ideas of interpretation, I feel that,


after a certain period of study, the pianist
should trust more to his intuitions in the interpretation of a composition.

Intuition

first,

backed up by logical reasoning. Some put it


the other way round; they put reason first,
and as a result their performance is dry and
For instance, I play a passage and
soulless.
make it sound pleasant, expressive; it pleases
my ear. I then analyze the effects I have

made and see if they are logical and correct.


For I must prove each point according to laws
of interpretation.
"There are laws of interpretation. One of
them is never to lay stress on a concord, but
rather on a dissonance. The stronger the dis-

sonance the heavier the stress put upon

it.

Piano Mastery

78

That

is

Second Series

a fundamental law. Another principle

How

rest places with sound.


many players sin in this way; either by not
observing rests or by filling up the place of

not to

is,

silence

fill

by tones prolonged by

pedal.

Silence

plays a very important role in music. Silence


should not be interfered with, filled up or ob-

Many

structed.

times

it is

one has to

necessary to hold
from the bottom

jump
pedal,
But one must
to the top of the keyboard.
know whether to bridge over the skip with
pedal or to let there be silence between the
if

two.

TRADITIONS

"We

speak of traditions of interpretation.


This should not mean dry, academic formulas
it

should not

schools

mean

and conservatories.

the old ideas, for that

word.

the traditions of the

Real tradition

is

They conserve

the meaning of the

in piano playing origi-

nates with great artists who have discovered


and evolved certain effects through intuition.

When these intuitions stand the test, and measure

up

become

to the highest standards of art, they


traditions.

"The subject of

interpretation

is

a very

broad as well as a deeply interesting one.

It

Leopold Godowsky

79

one upon which I have bestowed a great deal


of thought and made many discoveries. I repeat, I feel we should trust more to our intuitions than we do.
It is claimed by one
is

man

world had followed


this course, we should now be on a higher
plane of civilization than we are; present
events seem to bear out his theory."
learned

that, if the

VII

CARL FRIEDBERG
AFTER

listening to Carl Friedberg, both in

recital and with orchestra, it was a pleasure


to have the opportunity for a talk with him
in the seclusion of the home; to find him the

simple,

unaffected

gentleman,

with

frank,

winning manner, quite willing to talk of


methods of teaching and of study.

his

"I might say at the outset," began the pianist, "that I believe the legato touch is of the

most importance in piano playing; it is the


sine qua non of beautiful tone. I am aware
that some modern players do not agree with
this: they think everything should be played
with the arm. Even Busoni, whom I admire
exceedingly and consider one of the very great-

est artists, says in his edition of Bach's

Well-

Tempered Clavichord that there is no legato


I must differ from
possible on the piano.
those who hold to this idea, for I emphatically believe

and can prove there

on the piano. It

is

is

a legato

the foundation of beautiful

tone.
80

Carl Friedberg

81

EXPRESSIVE TONE

"The tone an artist draws from his instrument should be round, full and expressive, capable of being shaded and varied, just as is
the bel canto of the singer.
to sing with our fingers. I

We

should learn

knew the famous


and
teacher Rimini and played much
singer

From

for him.
deal,

I learned a great
to acquire a singing,

this artist

which helped

me

expressive tone on the piano.

"I endeavor to give

my piano tone the


For

ity of the singing voice.

this

qual-

reason I

have made myself familiar with a large number


of operas of every school.
When quite a

young lad I learned Tristan and Isolde by


heart, and I still know it, and many other
opera scores.
"I have been largely

my own

teacher,

though in the beginning I had most excellent


instruction.
I was a pupil of James Quast,
the

Dutch

pianist, for four years,

and

later

studied for some time with

Mme.

mann.

suggestions from
I first played for

Anton

also

received

Rubinstein.

When

him he expressed himself as


>yith

my

singing tone ancl

Clara Schu-

especially pleased

my manner of using

82

Piano Mastery

Second Series

I deeply appreciated his words


the pedals.
of commendation.

"Together with much concert work, I have


done a great deal of teaching. For the last
ten years I had been located in Cologne, at
the Conservatory, where I had charge of the
artist class.
It takes the form of a Meister
Schule, along the same lines as the one in Vienna over which Godowsky used to preside.
Of course I often had to be absent on tour,
but I still found considerable time for
teaching.

"In

my

teaching I begin with finger training; for I am not one who believes in neglecting this side of piano technic. If you will

come over to the piano I will show you just


what I mean." The artist seated himself at
the keyboard, illustrating as he talked.

HAND

POSITION

"I first require a correct position. In this


I follow the advice of Rubinstein, who counseled the student to sit on a chair which would
be the right height to keep the level of the
arm and wrist, not allowing the elbow to hang
below the keyboard. The knees are to be close
together; the heels planted on the floor, with
the soles of the feet resting on the pedals, but

Carl Friedberg

83

The arms fall easily at


Mme. Schumann taught, but not

not depressing them.


the side, as

pressed against

on

Now

it.

the

hand

is

placed

keys, in a vaulted position, just as


Leschetizky requires. I will now hold
five

my

hand

and depress one key with


the middle finger. As you see, the condition
of arm is quite loose and relaxed. You can
move my arm back and forth, or in any direction

in this position,

you

choose, but

you to dislodge
it

my

remains there with

it

be impossible for

will

finger

from the key, for

full relaxed

arm

weight.

MAKING THE FINGERS FLEXIBLE


"I

now begin

to

make

various

movements

and independent.
When they are somewhat under control I begin to train the thumb under the hand, ready
for scale playing. The thumb moves under the
hand, for the backward scale form, as soon as
it has left its key, and is held under the hand
I am a great
until its turn comes to play.
to render the fingers flexible

believer in thorough scale practice in all forms.


"In regard to equalizing the fingers, some

players struggle to make all fingers equally


strong; yet with all their effort the fourth fin-

ger can never be made as vigorous as the

84

Piano Mastery

And why

thumb.

Second Series

should

the fingers be
equal one just the same as the others? It
Just those slight inequalities
is not necessary.
all

of touch give variety and expressiveness to the


playing. There are times when it is better to

use weaker fingers than strong ones.

"When

become

somewhat
trained, I begin on the hand, moving it up and
down on the wrist. Chords are played with
this touch; then from the elbow, and lastly
fingers

have

upper arm, which of


course hangs loosely from the shoulder.
"For all this technical drill I use hundreds
in combination with the

of exercises of
printed.

my own, which have never been

I do not adhere strictly to one set


new ones constantly, per-

of these, but invent

haps changing them every week. If fingers


are weak and bending, they must be made
strong by

special

and gymnastic

pressing

exercises.

LEGATO TOUCH

"The student concentrates his


legato touch and on beautiful and

efforts

expressive
If I have a melody to play I
as many modern artists do, with a

tone quality.

can do

it,

movement

on

of

hand and arm

for each note

Carl Friedberg
that

is

other.

85

from an-

to say, detaching one note

With proper pedaling, such a manner


made to sound very well."

of playing can be

Here Mr. Friedberg

illustrated

his

point.

"Now

I will play the same passage with pure


legato touch and you will hear the difference.
I prefer the pure legato to the detached way
of playing.

When

a melody

lies in

more ex-

tended position, the hand can reach for the


notes with steadiness and control.
might

We

liken this tense reaching out from one note


to another to a suspension bridge, swung be-

tween two supports the fingers." This remark reminded me forcibly of William H.
Sherwood's method of turning the hand and
reaching out for the key, with slow, controlled
motion.

"I believe in making everything musical, in


always making the tone beautiful, even in

and scales," went on the


"The
pianist.
piano is more than a thing of
metal and wood; it can speak, and the true
It
artist will draw from it wonderful tones.
technical exercises

should be part of his constant study to create


I believe a single tone can
beautiful tone.

made expressive. I can prove this to you."


Here Mr. Friedberg played several single

be

Piano Mastery

86

Second Series

tones here and there on the keyboard.


of these was played with arm weight.

Each
The

pressure was slightly relaxed after the key had


sounded, not enough to remove the ringer, but
just sufficient to
varied in quality
"It

is

make
and

the tone expressive and


color. The tone sang.

a most interesting study,

to discover

new and

this effort

beautiful effects of tone

and variety of production. So much can be


done with staccatos, too. There are so many
kinds; the hand staccato, the finger staccato,
the drawing off, elastic touch.

Staccato can

sometimes be executed with a single finger, for


entire passage, as this for example." Here
the pianist dashed into a passage in eighth

an

from a Chopin mazourka, using only the


second finger and keeping the rest of the hand
closed.
He then repeated the selection with

notes,

normal fingering and legato touch; the conwas very marked.


"If a student comes to you," I asked, "who

trast

plays tolerably well, though not trained along


these technical lines, do you require him, first
of

all,

to

go through

this technical drill?"

"I do not require it. I explain my ideas to


him, illustrate them and show him the advantages of such training. He is at once anxious

Carl Friedberg
to study in this

who

87

way; I have never found one

did not wish to do so."

Since the above conversation, Mr. Friedberg


has become more at home in this country,

where

his

time

teaching and

is

many

now

fully occupied with

concert appearances.

VIII

YOLANDA MERO
THE BEAUTIFUL IN MUSIC

AT home in her beautiful apartments in New


York, after a season of concert playing, Mme.
Yolanda Mero, the brilliant Hungarian pianist, talked of her work and her musical ideas.
"I do not love technic for its own sake, and
Of
therefore I now practice it but little.
not
course, I must play scales sometimes
You
no
see
I
have
however.
daily
every day,
routine, as some pianists have; that is because
I

am

to

me

not methodical, in the first place, and,


secondly, because that kind of practice seems
such a waste of time.

When

am away

on a tour, there is often no time to practice at


all; and if there should be a little while here
and there, the piano may be a poor one, so that
I feel better just to let it alone and not attempt
to practice at

"Some

all.

keyboard with
never done
I
but
have
go,
here in my home, between en-

pianists take a silent

them wherever they


so.

When

am

88

Yolanda Herd

89

gagements, I practice but even then I am not


When the fever is on
systematic about it.
then I work with enthusiasm a whole day at
a time; but I must be in the mood to work or
I accomplish nothing. If I am not in the
mood, I would rather keep away from the
piano or play only a bit to amuse myself.
;

CLOTH OVER THE KEYBOARD


"In the beginning,
tice technic

it is

true, I

very carefully and

had

to prac-

My

exactly.
father taught me at the start; that was when
I was five and a half. One thing he made me

do which I think helped me very much to gain


accuracy. He would spread a cloth over the
keyboard, and, with this barrier between my
little fingers and the keys, I must play my
scales, etudes and pieces."
(This reminds one
of the

Mozart, playing before the nobility.


it was only by means of
magic he was able to accomplish such wonders.
little

Some one suggested

The

fellow indignantly protested, and


offered to play the same piece with the keys
little

He

was as good as his word,


quite covered.
to the increased astonishment of the court.)

made me so exact that I


very seldom touch a wrong key now. But I
"That

am

sort of training

sure that this course can be followed only

90

Piano Mastery

with

Second Series

children; with older ones or with

little

too late to try it.


the age of eight I had a woman teacher,

grown-ups

it is

"At
Frau Professor Augusta Rennebaum, who is
at the National Conservatorium at BudaI consider her a wonderful teacher, in
I have been with
fact, I have had no other.
her from my eighth year until I came to
Pest.

America. With her I did all possible etudes,


from Kohler and Czerny to Clementi and TauThat is, perhaps, why I do not practice
sig.
technic now, I have been through so much.
Moreover, it no longer interests me.

A SEEKER AFTER IDEAS

"What
ideas.

I want

now

My preference

music, I want the


for music filled with

is
is

ideas, with emotion, not for pieces whose techwork


nical display will astonish and dazzle.

Paganini Variations of Brahms, for


instance, is full of brilliant technical feats which
seem to obscure the deeper meanings of the
piece. I play these Variations, to be sure, but
they do not greatly appeal to me. I am very
fond of Schumann, his Kreisleriana, Fantaisie
Stucke, Carneval and other things.
You mention my playing the Vogrich Staccato
Caprice, which is a brilliant show piece. Quite
like the

Yolanda Herd

91

but that was a youthful indiscretion. I


played it when a very little girl, and now,
true,

everywhere I go, I am asked to play it. I


can assure you I never have to practice that,
for I have played it so much.
"I feel there is other music just as beautiful
as piano music. I am devoted to that for the
violin or for the orchestra

much; chamber music,

it all

too.

interests

When

me

there

such a wealth of instrumental music of

so
is

all

kinds, I feel it such a loss of time to spend so


of it on technic, pure and simple. Others

much

may not agree with me however. There is


Mme. Sophie Menter, for instance, who has a
She spends hours daily in
technic
work.
This consists largely
five-finger
of repeating the same note with each finger in

marvelous technic.

succession over
soft,

and over again, now

loud,

now

with every conceivable variety of touch

and tone.
equality.

The principle she works on is


The theory is that as each finger

plays the note, the ear must discriminate between the tones and strive to make each tone

If five fingers can be thus


play single notes with absolute

like all the others.

trained to

evenness they

will, it is claimed,

preserve this

equality in scales, arpeggios or whatever

played.

is

For myself I could never follow such

Second Series

Piano Mastery

92

a regime, but she has achieved wonderful re-

from

sults

it.

PRACTICING A

"When

NEW WORK

up a new work I play

I take

through quite as a child would, carefully


slowly, from end to end. I do this over
over

and

and
and

my mind
Then the
then I really work

the plan of the piece is in


my ear, till I can hear it.

till

in

it

real study of
at it.

it

begins;

"I do not say to myself:

my

this piece to

Now

I shall add

repertoire, therefore I will

begin at once to memorize it, first one hand


and the other, then both together. No, I study
the contents of the piece as a whole, then each
in detail.
The result is that, almost before I

know

has happened, I know the notes from


memory. This seems to me a better way than
it

memorize the notes. For,


to do this, and to play without

to start at once to
in the effort

them, in the early stages, one may miss many


signs and marks which would otherwise be observed, if the printed page were before one.
This does not mean that I am averse to com-

mitting the music away from the instrument,


for I often do this on trains during my travels

from place to

place.

There

is

so

much

tech-

Yolanda Herd
nic to be

and

it is

the sort of

interesting, too.

To

take scales

found

technic that

is

93

in pieces,

and play them to-day at a certain speed and


to-morrow a little better, or worse, that is not
sufficiently absorbing to keep my mind on
thinking of other things. But
to study a difficult passage in a musical work,
to see and hear it grow better and better with

them; I

fall to

there

practice

is

keen zest in

that.

MEMORIZING A CONCERTO
"In studying a concerto, I first begin with
the score, for I must know every note of each
instrument of the orchestra as well as my own
piano part.
is

liable to

The player who


come

does not do this

to grief during performance

a great responsibility, this


playing with orchestra; much greater than
playing solos. For in the latter instance one
in public.

may

It

is

cover a slip

more

easily.

It

is

true one

should be able to improvise a passage when


playing with orchestra, but this seems to me

more

difficult.

KEEPING TECHNIC IN REPAIR

"In regard to keeping up

my

technic to

concert pitch, I can say that I do not now


practice scales and technical forms outside of

Piano Mastery

94

Second Series

Of

course in earlier days I had to do


a great deal of pure technic study. But now
I find all I need in the pieces themselves.
pieces.

When

I have mastered the special forms con-

tained in the piece, I have those and the piece


as well.

"As for octaves, I do not now practice them


outside of pieces; for if there is any octave
work in a piece it is apt to give one plenty to
Take

the Sixth Rhapsodic of Liszt, for


instance, can any octave exercise be devised
better than that?
Then there is the Fourth
do.

Rhapsodic

also, as

you suggest, on the same

order, only not quite so

both give

difficult;

splendid opportunity for octave study. Other


pieces might also be quoted for this purpose.

"One word more about practicing. I can


it when unable to give my whole time

never do
to

it,

for then I accomplish nothing

thought must be on

my

my whole

work.

my practice at the piano. No

Yes, I do all
one in the house

has objected as yet; when they do I shall get


a silent keyboard, but not before."

me your

grown, broadened and ripened to a wonderful degree, since


you have been in America," I said to Mme.
Mero, as we sat chatting in her music room
"It seems to

art has

Yolanda Mero

95

one forenoon, shortly after a New York recital, which had been performed with consummate mastery, with exquisite refinement of
"I was deeply imstyle and tonal effects.
pressed with this fact on hearing your recital
As I remember, when
here the other day.
played in New York, some six years
all temperaall fire and flame,
were
ago, you
ment. Now it is temperament perfectly controlled, though the fire is there, just below the
surface. But it is held in fine balance, tempered by unerring taste and skill. You must
have lived deeply in these years."
"I am older and more matured," said the
young artist, with her brilliant smile; "I have
toned down some of my early enthusiasms.
Then I have been a great deal before the public and have played much since I first came
here; I have made several tours in this counThe
try and one in Europe in that time.
rethe
more
is
the
one
before
longer
public,
poseful one can appear, at least on the outside; yet there may be an increasing anxiety
below the surface. But we learn not to show

you

first

outwardly. It is the nervousness that grips


one before going on that is so distracting. As
soon as I have begun, played myself out a
it

little,

grown

familiar with

my

audience and

Second Series

Piano Mastery

96

established a

sympathy between

us, I

am

per-

at home and do not think of the listeners.

fectly

"What you have found, that pianists have


much more to say for themselves and their art
than the vocalists have for theirs, is no doubt
true. The reason is not far to seek. Is it not
because the pianist must be a highly educated
person, knowing many sides of his art? He
must not only have mastered the technical side,
but he must have a knowledge of harmony,
form and counterpoint, and also know the
works he plays. Then he must know many

other things besides music,


art,

literature, poetry,

life.

"To speak

of the mechanical side, think of


the years of exhaustive study which must be
spent to acquire a modern technic for the
piano.
voice,

who

person, however, with a beautiful


spends two years or so with a good

teacher, can sing in concerts and even go on


tour. With perhaps thirty songs and a couple
of arias, one is considered ready to come before

But to learn thirty songs would


match
the labor bestowed on one
hardly
Chopin etude. Then think of the repertoire a
public pianist must have
the public.

Yolanda Herd

97

PIANIST OR SINGER

"On

the other hand, the pianist

is

at a dis-

advantage when measured with a singer.


Singing is always much more popular with an
average audience than piano playing. The
'tired business man,' wishing to be entertained,
will turn out to hear a singer render an aria
and some nice English songs, when he could
not stand the strain and mental fatigue of
listening to a piano recital. This happens all
over the country, and is a condition we pianists have to contend with.
It may not be the
condition in New York or in other music centers, where there is a large musical public,
where there are many who know and love piano
music.
Of course musical appreciation has
increased greatly, and the understanding of

piano music

is

making wonderful strides. Yet


must choose his pro-

for all this, the pianist

grams very carefully in order to


not weary the average audience.

interest

and

MODERN MUSIC
"I have not added much so-called modern
music to my repertoire, perhaps because it does
not always seem beautiful to me. It may be
interesting, impressionistic, symbolic, but not

98

Second Series

Piano Mastery

satisfying, as
stance.
Very

things

is

most of Chopin, for

in-

few of the extremely modern

make me

learning them,

feel I

cannot rest without


or that I must play them.

"I have been interested in the work of the


Russian Ballet, and the modern compositions
they have illustrated, the music of Petrouchka,
for instance, and some of the other selections.
In Schumann's Carneval, it seems to me much
more might have been done with it in a chore-

ographic

There

is

has been accomplished.


such a great variety in the various

you know, but

as given by the Ballet,


of the best are left out. It does not seem

scenes, as

some

way than

me

does to some people,


to see the Carneval pictured in the dance. For

a desecration to

as

it

we have become somewhat accustomed to


through the work of Duncan and others.

this

We

have had Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, the


Mendelssohn Spring Song, and various Schubert and Chopin pieces portrayed in the dance.
Why not the Carneval, or any other selection,
if by so doing the music is presented more
vividly to the imagination?

OLD MUSIC
"I am fond of the old music, pieces which
one seldom hears of nowadays. One composer

Yolanda Herd

99

whose music is much neglected, is Philip


Emanuel Bach. I have found some lovely and

known things of his. Here is one, a


Rondo in E major." And sitting down at the
piano, Mme. Mero illustrated as she talked.
"I also play the Organ Concerto in D Minor,
little

by

his brother,

Friedmann Bach.

It has been

arranged for piano by Stradal.


"Then there are some fine things of
del

(outside

smith!).

One

of
is

the

Harmonious

HaenBlack-

the set of Variations in

Minor, another is a Gigue in


Minor, both
of which are little known.
Passacaglia by
Frescobaldi has been arranged by Stradal

also and I use a Gigue by Hassler. One cannot place more than one or two of these old
pieces on a program with safety. I shall add
;

the Sonata

very soon."

Op. 110 of Beethoven

to

my

list

IX

ERNEST HUTCHESON
TECHNIC AND INTERPRETATION
IN Ernest Hutcheson
ties

are united the abili-

of the concert artist and the artist teacher.

It is not easy to take high rank in both the art


of playing and the art of teaching, but here is
an Australian musician who has been able to

do both.

In this double capacity he has become noted on both sides of the ocean.
Mr. Hutcheson rightly feels that experience
should loom large when estimating the value
and usefulness of the teacher. He can often
determine at once whether a prospective pupil
can work with him to advantage or be better
off

with some other teacher.

"I would sometimes rather take a beginner,"


he says, "than one who has played a great deal
and is very set in his ways. Various students
come to me asking to be coached on the interpretation

They may
ally, to

or

pedaling, of

different

pieces.

not be in any condition, technic-

play those pieces, or to profit by


100

my

Ernest Hutcheson

101

ideas on the subject, for they have not taken


the necessary steps to climb the heights re-

quired in such compositions.


"It is surprising how little many people comprehend where they stand in their musical

Where

they think they are, and


where they really stand, may be wide apart!
teacher needs large experience and acumen
studies.

to help him decide quickly just what regimen


is best for the pupil, both technically and mu-

Some

pupils can play a Mozart sonata respectably who would have little idea of
sically.

modern tonal coloring required to render


even MacDowelFs little Wild Rose. Or they

the

might play the Reinhold Impromptu with


brilliancy, yet would quite fail to give the right
atmosphere to the Water Lily. Some pieces
which seem simple, so far as the notes go, present difficulties of another sort.
How is it
possible to attempt a Liszt Rhapsodic, when
one cannot compass the little Fantaisie in

Minor, by Mozart?

FINDING

NEW

MUSIC

time has become so limited that I have


not the leisure to look over quantities of new

"My

music.

One would need

a hundred

to examine perhaps
compositions to find one which

102

Piano Mastery

Second Series

would be acceptable. Of course I make use


of the entire standard repertoire in teaching;
the ultra-modern things come to me, so to
speak.
artists,

As

I find them, or hear them from


or occasionally from pupils, I make a

note of them in this


;

"I arrange

my

way

they come to me.

teaching

lists like this,"

and

Mr. Hutcheson showed a little blank book


with lists of pieces, from the classics of Bach
and Beethoven down to the present hour; certain signs
value.

"No

indicated

doubt

all

their

teachers

special

technical

make such

lists.

Mine

are not arranged in grades, however. I


could never see the use of grading pieces.

Pupils vary so greatly in comprehension and


mentality that the same piece might be difficult for one pupil and very simple for another, both having studied for about the same
length of time. This shatters the grade the-

I find myself at sea on the subject, and


banish all thought of grades."
ory.

Knowing Mr. Hutcheson's wide

experience

privately and in music


as
well as in America, I
in
schools,
Europe
inquired his opinion as to the relative value of
each.

in

teaching,

"There

is

both

much

to be said in favor of the

Ernest HutcJieson
music school.

work and

school

is

103

beneficial for its

If your
pupil needs ear-training you can require her
to attend such a class it is the same with harroutine

free advantages.

mony. All pupils need drill in these subjects,


and in a school they are included in the tuition.

Then

there are the opportunities to play in


and musicals, often with other in-

the concerts

struments and with the orchestra.

dent

intends

becoming

things are indispensable.


be obtained free of cost.

If the stu-

professional these
In a school they can

IMPORTANCE OF PLAYING IN PUBLIC

"The

private teacher, though doing excellent work, finds himself at a disadvantage on


these points. Playing before others is an absolute necessity. I have always insisted on it

private pupils. I have had a large


studio, seating 150 or 200, and generally have
had a musical once a week, the pupils inviting

with

my

There is nothing
their parents and friends.
which will take the place of the routine of playing before others.

The only way

to learn to

play in public is to play. Pupils who play


their pieces correctly and well for me, will

make shocking mistakes and go


through sheer nervousness,

if

all to pieces

playing for the

104 Piano

Mastery

time in a musicale.

first

Second Series
They soon get used

Even

however.

three or four performances during the season will be of great benefit.


to

it

TECHNICAL TRAINING
"In regard to technical training there are
certain principles underlying all correct teaching and playing. I do not believe in any special

method.

It

is

so easy to

make a method,

certain phases are held up and magnified,


to the exclusion of other phases of the subject.
if

There are so many sides to be considered they


should all be viewed in the right perspective,
and in just relation to each other. It is difficult even to speak of certain sides, for fear
of seeming to neglect other phases which are
;

equally important.
"Perhaps the three most important princiThe
ples are: Position, Condition, Action.
first presents the least difficulty.
With the

second

we

are

first

concerned when a

new pupil

taken in hand. There is usually stiffness.


may be that nothing can be done till the
pupil learns to relax shoulders and arms. Then
we come to the piano and touch single tones,
is

It

arm weight and a single finger.


There are three different ways of touching a
key; we can hit it, press it, or fall on it, The
using relaxed

Ernest Hutcheson

105

of course, is harsh; the second term is


sometimes misleading. Playing with relaxed
weight of arm and a firm finger seems to exfirst,

press the idea.

My

old teacher in Leipsic,

Zwintcher, used to say legato touch was like


walking.
the body

As

in that

movement

transferred from

is

the weight of
one foot to an-

we

take each step, so in playing a


smooth legato on the piano, the weight of hand
other, as

and arm goes


as

we

easily

from one finger

to the next

proceed.

POSITION

"When

AND TOUCH

easy, relaxed conditions of arm,


wrist are understood, we secure an

elbow and
arched position of the hand, with rounded finThe latter are not to be straightened
gers.
when lifted, as some are inclined to do, but
should preserve their rounded shape. In all
the earlier stages of piano study there must be
decided finger action, with fingers kept at a
too high
medium height above the keys.
lift may cause strained conditions and hard

tone a too low position will not give a sufficient


;

clearness

and development.

"There are various forms of staccato touch;


one

is

the drawing in of the finger, giving

brilliancy

and

delicacy.

106

Piano Mastery

Second Series

"In chord playing there are many touches,


the one chosen depending on the character of
the passage. We can use down-arm action,
with great weight, or hand action at the wrist,
or up-arm touch, always taking care to keep
unemployed fingers out of harm's way." Mr.

Hutcheson

few measures of
a Chopin Prelude, a Beethoven Sonata and the
illustrated with a

Schumann Grillen.
"For octaves, after

the arched position of


the hand has been formed the great point
seems to be to touch the white keys up near the

black ones, so that the hand shall not zig-zag


in

and

out, but preserve

an even

line in play-

ing both black and white keys, always keeping the other fingers out of harm's way, by
holding them up."

Thoughts on Interpretation
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE
"Interpretation has two aspects, an objective and a subjective.
Imagine several fine
orators reading the soliloquy from Hamlet.
In many respects their versions would be identical;

words

all

would presumably pronounce the

correctly,

give the

right

accents

to

strong syllables, punctuate intelligibly so that

Ernest HutcTieson

107

the sense and construction of the speech would


be clear; all would employ certain inflections

of tone and rhythm in their effort to express


the ideas of the author.

That

is

objective in-

terpretation.

"But each individual orator would probHe would hardly fail to


ably go farther.
add touches peculiar to himself: heightened
shades of voice, a barely perceptible dwelling on chosen words, gestures
prompted by his own feeling; in short, he
stresses, delicate

would endeavor to add


tional force,

which we

his

may

mental and emo-

call his artistic per-

sonality, to that of Shakspere.

This

is

sub-

No

jective interpretation.
greater mistake
could be made than to suppose that there is a

latent antagonism between the objective and


It is so in music also; the
subjective sides.

most 'original' rendering of any work may at


the same time show infinite care of the composer's intentions.

USE OF RUBATO

"One

of the most harmful prejudices in regard to interpretation is the prevalent idea


that one takes a 'liberty' in adding inflection

and rubato not


author.

This

is

directly prescribed by the


an absurdity, for any per-

108

Piano Mastery

Second Series

formance devoid of such enrichment will inevitably be dry and mechanical, and the most
unpardonable liberty one could possibly be
guilty of toward a composer is to make his
music sound mechanical. Hardly less is the
suggestion often made to students that, while
rubato may appropriately be used in playing
Chopin and Schumann, it is out of place in

Bach and Beethoven.

The

truth

is

that the

degree of rubato necessary to a beautiful per-

formance depends entirely on the character of


the work itself, not on the name of the writer
or the date of composition.

Many of Chopin's

and Schumann's works would be ruined by a


lavish employment of rubato, and many Fantasias of Bach and slow movements of Beethoven call for as much rhythmical freedom as
These
any modern nocturne or romance.
prejudices, for that matter, are even historically wrong; the old masters all used rubato,

and Beethoven's playing, as far as we can


judge from reports of his contemporaries, was
so extraordinarily free that in all probability it
would have been a severe shock to audiences

and

critics

of the present day.

logical

Flexibility of

and always has been as


and correct a means of interpretation

rhythm, in fact,

is

Ernest Hutcheson

109

any other, provided always that it be


tated by artistic sense, not by caprice.
as

dic-

VARIETY OF TONE

"Rhythm
tion.

Chief

but one element of interpretaamong the others are Tone, in-

is

cluding accent and shading, Phrasing and


Pedaling. In all of these we shall find the

same necessity of exercising our own


judgment. The composer directly
his essential wishes; others

taste

and

indicates

he implies; other

points again he leaves entirely to the player's


For instance, the author very
discretion.
rarely suggests, except by implication, a difference of tone between melody and accom-

paniment, yet even a beginner strongly feels


the obligation of a marked difference of quality or volume.

"In phrasing, precisely the same principles


apply to classical and modern works, but the
usage of the

regard to legato-slurs
differs very widely from that of the moderns.
It

is

ing

classics in

necessary, therefore, to interpret phrasin the light of the composer's idiom.

Roughly speaking,

it

might be said that in

usage the end of a slur does not necessarily involve an interruption of the legato,
while in modern usage (particularly that of

classical

110

Piano Mastery

Second Series

Chopin) the presence of a slur does not always


preclude such breaks.

PEDALING

"As

for pedaling signs, the convention under which they are employed is radically incorrect, and accordingly we have to displace

or 'syncopate' every sign in order to realize the

Nor

by any means
the only demand customarily made on our inwriter's intention.

telligence.

is

this

Beethoven, for example, wrote for

an instrument of very small resonance as compared with a modern Steinway. We are told
that he played the entire theme of the second
movement of his C minor Concerto without

damper pedal; a

similar performance on a piano of to-day would have the most


disastrous results.

lifting the

"While all musical notation, except the


mere notation of pitch, is limited and inaccurate, that of the pedal is peculiarly inadequate, and the ear, our only safe guide, must
constantly be invoked. The use of the soft

pedal is almost always left to the native sense


of the pianist; and the sostenuto pedal, found
only on instruments of American make, has

been practically ignored by living composers.

Ernest Hutcheson

111

THE CONTENT OF THE PIECE


"The character of a

always the real


should be carekey to its interpretation.
ful to seek the essential meaning, not merely
display the outward form. Let me give a few
piece

is

We

instances.

In the Berceuse of Chopin the per-

vading spirit is tenderness, soothingness, the


song of mother-love; the conspicuous ornamentation is only incidental and should be
veiled, not insisted on; the suggestion (in the
left hand) of a persistently rocking cradle is

and should never 'creak.'


Take the same composer's Funeral March;

wholly

external

here the true character

that of dull, sullen


grief, rising to anguish, relieved by hope or
sweet memories; the hint of tolling bells and
is

pageantry of woe is material, not spiritual, and


should be kept in the background.
I once
knew a lady who 'quite distinctly saw the carriage wheels go round' when she heard this
tragedy of tone
Again, look at the fitude in
F minor, op. 25, No. 1. This is a tiny gem
which might be compared to a wandering and
wistful breeze, elusive, remote; it should be
!

played in that mood, not as a study in speed

and cross-rhythms. Is there any 'moonlight'


in the C sharp minor Sonata of Beethoven?

112

Piano Mastery

Heaven

Second Series

It shows us a dark, tormented


forbid
soul which finds fleeting peace in the Intermezzo, that 'flower between two abysses,' and
!

on to a tempest of despair in the Finale.


"It is an excellent exercise in interpretation
thus to take a composition, or more often a
single theme, and attempt to describe its character in a few words. This does not mean to
fit a story to it, to impose on it attributes not
drives

necessarily inherent, but simply to fix its indisputable qualities in the mind as a key to the

right feeling.

"Let

not be thought, however, that the


right feeling for music will alone insure good
interpretation. The deepest feelings often fail
it

to find adequate expression; concealed in the

player's mind, they reach no listening ear. The


mission of the interpretative artist is to com-

municate music, as he

feels

it,

to others.

Our

Anglo-Saxon temperament always labors under the artistic disadvantage of a deep-rooted


reluctance to show emotion.
But emotion

must be shown

to be shared,

and

this,

I think,

what we usually mean in speakI am far from


of
musical
ing
'expression.'
decrying the sensuous and intellectual elements
is

in substance

of interpretation, though

modern world

derives

it

little

seems that our


satisfaction

from

Ernest Hutcheson
these elements
fervor,

when unaccompanied by

and on the other hand

will forgive

113
poetic

many

offenses if once persuaded that a strong imaginative impulse sways its performers.

MR.

AND

MRS.

A. K.

VIRGIL

THE NECESSITY OF A THOROUGH


FOUNDATION
IF Mr. Virgil were asked for what particu-

would wish to be known to posterity


his answer would surely be "as a musical educator." To the cause of Education in Music
lar title he

he has consecrated his life.


It may be of interest to the army of teachers and players who use the clavier, who have
found such benefit in the method of piano technic and study combined with it, to know a few
facts in the career of the inventor of this re-

markable instrument.
Almon Kincaid Virgil is a native of Erie,
Penn. His father practiced law until middle
life, then studied theology and became a Bap-

He

was a highly educated man,


with an intense love for music, and much natural ability for it. His son Almon was taught
to play both 'cello and organ at a very early
tist minister.

age; while occupied with school work, he de-

o^o

<~

^cutM>'^DC

^AOcAy

Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Virgil


much time

115

After graduating
from a seminary, he entered college, but later
was forced to relinquish his studies on account
of ill health. To please his father he then took
up the study of law at the Albany Law School;
but as all his interests tended toward the study
and teaching of music, he soon gave up all
voted

to music.

thought of being a lawyer.


his early twenties A. K. Virgil, through
the influence of a College President with whom

In

he came in touch, became deeply interested in


the study of psychology, and its application to
correct educational principles in the study of
From that period he has been a con-

music.

stant student of this subject.

HOW THE CLAVIER CAME INTO BEING


When young Virgil began over fifty years
ago in a western town to teach music, he discovered that most piano pupils had very little
idea of what they were trying to do or what
they were aiming at. Even then he felt that
the study of music should be made as thorough
and logical as the study of mathematics or any
other science.

He

began to

strive at

once to

educate pupils to think; to do one thing at a


time and do it thoroughly to do nothing without correct thinking. His desire was to train

116 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

the mental and physical powers to form a perfect, well-balanced whole.

He

discovered in those early days, that the


average pupil had a very uncertain touch and

Some

tones were likely


to overlap, while others would be disconnected.
He felt that if attention could be concentrated

poor key-connection.

on a pure legato effect, away from, or quite


apart from musical sound, both touch and tone
would be greatly improved.
Two keys abstracted from an old piano
served for an experiment he had in mind.
When the inventor had arranged the action of
these two keys to his satisfaction, he allowed
one or two of his pupils to practice slow trill
exercises on them. These pupils felt the benefit almost immediately, through more exact
movements and better piano tone. Other keys
were soon added to the first pair, as the idea
grew and more improvements resulted. From
such small beginnings as these sprang the first
early effort called the techniphone, which
finally developed into the Practice Clavier, and

then into the perfected instrument

we now

have.

At

the root of

ment was the

vital

telligence in the

thought and experiidea to awaken musical in-

all this

mind

of the pupil, and pre-

Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Virgil


vent so
practice.

much
For

indifferent,
it is

shiftless,

117
aimless

impossible to accomplish

anything on the clavier without thought.


second idea of equal importance was to separate, for a time, the so-called mechanical side

of piano study from the musical side; in other


words to prepare fingers, hands and arms for

work they were to perform, before attempting that work. In every branch of labor the
artisan must fit himself for his task before unthe

dertaking

same?

it

should not the pianist do the


logical division of labor reduces

why

Such a

measurably the time required to gain control of


physical and mental forces.
It would seem both sensible and normal to
begin one's musical studies in a

way to gain
and arm prep-

the quickest results. But finger


aration away from the keyboard had been

little

of.
The very idea of moving fingers
and playing exercises on a table or toneless
instrument was considered detrimental. No,
tone must be heard there could be no playing
without tone. The fact that better and purer

thought

tones could be produced as the result of proper


preparation, was difficult for teacher or stu-

dent to grasp or believe.

Thus an

uphill path lay before the inventor,


to convince others his ideas were sound and

118

sensible.
gle,

Second Series

Piano Mastery
but

It has been a long and arduous strughas not been in vain. The results

it

good have been wide and far-reaching.


Many have come to realize the truth of the
principle he has preached and taught for so
for

many years countless students have been benefited,


many teachers all over America and
;

also in

Europe have been

scientific lines,

able to teach along


have learned what it is to have

something definite to teach.

EDUCATION IN MUSIC

Mr. Virgil and his wife formerly Miss


Florence Dodd of London, who so ably assists
him in his musical and educational labors
called at my studio recently. They had just

New York

after completing a successful year of musical activity in St. Petersburg, Florida, where they have established a

arrived in

music school, which

is already in a very floura large number of pupils


with
ishing condition,

enrolled.

yet we have done all the teaching our"You can get an


selves," said Mrs. Virgil.
idea of what that means when I tell you I be-

"As

gin at half past seven in the morning and teach


right through the
is

day

absolutely virgin

till

soil

into the evening.

down

It

there; they wel-

Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Virgil

119

come our work with open mind and are eager


it.
We are training some young teachers

for

now, who will soon

"We

assist

us in the work."

believe in teaching music

and piano

playing on educational principles," said Mr.


"The trouble seems to be that musiVirgil.
cians are not educators, therefore they do not
teach music along educational lines, nor with
the same thoroughness used for other educa-

We

tional subjects.
feel this is quite a false
view to take of music study. The foundation
must be well laid if good results are to follow,

and the only

logical time to

do

this is at the be-

on this
room for reform in music

teachers do not insist

ginning. Many
there is truly great

Personally we are using time,


energy and all our skill to institute and spread
these necessary reforms as far as we are able.

teaching.

"There

one point on which I feel very


great deal of harm is being done
strongly.
some
who are not educators but who
artists
by
is

are besieged for lessons because of their great


success on the concert platform. Their teach-

ing experience includes nothing more than


that gained from coaching advanced students
in the interpretation

The
of compositions.
declare that definite

harm comes when they

foundational study and strict technical prac-

Piano Mastery

120

Second Series

unnecessary, for technic can be mastered through the study of compositions. Arttice are

ists

who

insist there is

nical study

no need for

special tech-

doubtless through ignorance of

true educational principles, or because they


have never taught the average student are

thoughtlessly doing

harm

to students the world

over.

"For

their part, the students are eager to


catch at this advice, for they usually wish to

get to the top of the tree with as

little effort

When

as possible.
they at last awake to the
fact they have never laid an adequate foundation to build upon, the awakening is a sad one.

For they

find

it

disastrous to try to build

up a

repertoire without a foundation.

"Fifty years' teaching experience has


brought me in touch with thousands of students. From what I have seen of the general
lack of preparation I steadfastly maintain that

thorough technical study and practice are absolutely necessary

and I earnestly warn

stu-

dents against contrary advice.


"It is true artists need not teach technic
themselves, but I maintain they ought to consider the proper development of the faculties

demanded

in piano playing sufficiently to see

the importance of advising students to do con-?

Mr. and Mrs. A. K. Virgil


sistent

foundational work.

some

there are

artists

who do

am

121

thankful

this.

"When

correct playing habits have been


established and a certain amount of technical

has been positively acquired, and the student has mastered the principal technical

skill

forms, he can dispense with the stacks of etudes


which some teachers deem necessary. He can

economize time by devoting himself to compositions of real musical value, to be included in


a permanent repertoire. But I maintain that
even advanced students should give some time
each day to direct technical study.

"Some

of those

who now decry

study forget what they did


acquire their high pianistic

technical

in early years to
skill.

Others are

endowed by nature with such wonderful genius


and natural physical adaptability to the requirements of the piano that they have been
able to dispense with much of the technical
practice indispensable to the average student."

INTERMEDIATE TEACHERS

"We

supplemented Mrs. Virgil,


is an important field for musical educators of understanding and ability in bridging
over, as it were, the wide gap between the
foundation of music study and the stage where
"there

feel,"

Piano Mastery

122

Second Series

is ready for the artist teacher.


started aright and laid a corhave
pupil may
rect foundation, but if the succeeding steps
are not logically taken, precepts which were so

the student

carefully inculcated in the beginning are neglected and forgotten.


So there is an everincreasing demand for intermediate teachers,

who understand

the principles of a thorough


educational foundation, and can apply those
principles to pieces of various degrees of dif-

This naturally includes a large acquaintance with musical literature, as well as


much experience in teaching. I might call
ficulty.

an arrangement a division of labor,


though the expression smacks a bit of the
workroom.
such

"LIVE WEIGHT"

"We

hear a great deal in these days about


the 'dead weight principle.' Mr. Virgil and I

have always taught the principle of weight, but


we prefer to call it the 'live weight principle,'
for

it is

really vital

and

alive.

It

is

of course

the principle of relaxation, properly applied

and adjusted. When you want great depth


of tone you let down all the relaxed weight you
have; if you wish softer effects some of the
weight

is

suspended, held back, suppressed.

'Mr.

We

and Mrs.

*A.

K. Virgil

123

teach easy relaxed movements from the


The child must learn to do everything

start.

easily

and gracefully,

if it

be only standing,
For it cannot

walking, or entering a room.


be expected that a child who is

stiff

and awk-

ward

in everything else, can suddenly become


easy and graceful at the piano without proper

training."

CHARACTER BUILDING
"Music study based upon true educational
principles is most assuredly character building" remarked Mr. Virgil. "The successful
piano student must have purpose, perseverance
and will power but these qualities, w^ith many
;

students, are apparently lacking in the beginIt is quite wonderful, however, what
ning.
persistent effort on the part of the teacher will
do to arouse the power of thought and deter-

mination in his students."

THE CLAVIER

"And this

just where the clavier, properly


employed, becomes such an important ally,"
"The majority of
interposed Mrs. Virgil.
is

teachers do not half realize

its

value.

No

stu-

dent can use the clavier under intelligent guidance, without developing mental control. Ex-

124

Piano Mastery

perience has taught

me

dent will play far more


his practice

Second Series
that the average stumusically if he divides

between clavier and piano, than

if

he uses the piano exclusively, this is to say,


provided attention is given to ear-training and
he is taught to listen to his own playing when
he uses the piano. With the average student,
use of tone the entire time tends to dull his

musical

We

find that musically


gifted students need the clavier just as much
as others who are less highly endowed. Consensibilities.

stant appeal to the emotional sense through


is very taxing upon the physical condi-

tone

tion; gifted students are apt to work a great


deal more through their emotions than through

their intelligence."

"Yes," added Mr. Virgil, "and you remember what Professor Butler has said: 'Development through the emotions is ultimate weakness; development through the intelligence

ultimate strength.'

is

'

Volumes might be written about the work


of these earnest educators and their efforts
toward musical preparedness and efficiency.
They have accomplished much and the results
of their labors are spreading in ever-widening
circles,

with ever-increasing influence.

XI

EDWARD MACDOWELL,
AS TEACHER

RELATED BY MRS. EDWARD MACDOWELL

EACH

year adds to the fame of our greatest


American composer, Edward MacDowell. As
his music is more frequently heard, it becomes
better understood

and

loved.

The

various

clubs bearing the composer's name, scattered


over the country, are doing their share to familiarize people with his music. Perhaps the
most potent factor in spreading this familiarity

is

work which Mrs. MacDowell, widow


composer, is doing. For the past five

the

of the

years she has traveled over the length and


breadth of the land "from coast to coast"

bearing her sweet message of harmony and


beauty. As she ministered to her distinguished

husband, with the most unselfish devotion, during his life, so she has consecrated her time and
talents to the work of spreading broadcast a
better understanding of his music, and to the
upbuilding of the Peterborough Memorial,
125

126 Piano

Second Series

Mastery

which, mainly through her untiring efforts, has


come to be a source of help and inspiration to

many an

artist.

While Edward MacDowelFs fame in the future will rest on his many valuable contributions to musical literature,

we do not

forget

he was a brilliant pianist and considered a great


teacher.

He

had the

numbered among

gift of imparting,

his students

tional talent; musicians

who

and

some of excepnow making

are

an honorable career in the profession.


In regard to MacDowell's ideals of teaching
and piano study, no one could speak with more
knowledge and authority than Mrs. MacDow-

who

studied very seriously with the


composer for four years. She has been willing to give some of her valuable time, between
ell herself,

lecture recital engagements, to a conference on


these subjects, which is here set down with all

possible accuracy.
"I began to study the piano

when I was

though I had picked out many little things


for myself before that time," began Mrs. MacDo well. "My first and only teacher in
ten,

America was a

favorite aunt, who,

owing

to

changes of fortune, had come to New York


from her home in the South. She was half
French, a Jumel,

doubtless one of the orig-

Photograph by Darts

(&

Sanford

EDWARD

Edward Macdowell,

as

Teacher 127

and was really a remarkable


inal family
woman. She was a fine musician, and was able
within one year to make a place for herself
here, and obtain a large fee for lessons, something unusual for a woman to do in those early
days.

"My aunt evidently felt I had some talent


that was worth while cultivating, for she took
me in hand and taught me thoroughly,

for four

years. After that I worked by myself for several years, until, under stress of circumstances,
it was decided for me to make music my
profession, and I went abroad to continue my
studies.

"My goal was Frankfort, and my desire was


to

become a pupil of Clara Schumann.

Her

daughters acted as Vorbereiters for their famous mother. I learned they were slow, heavy

and pedantic, without having inherited the


Raff,
gifts of their distinguished parents.
Director of the Conservatory, seeing how matters stood, said it would be so much better if

I could study with a teacher


English, and mentioned the

who could speak


young American,

Edward MacDowell, who was then just

finish-

ing his studies with Raff. I consented to try


this plan for six months, though I confess I
was not eager to come to Europe to study with

128

Piano Mastery

Second Series

an American teacher; neither was the young


professor anxious to accept pupils from his

own

However

My

I began.
teacher
put me through a very severe course of trainHe has since confessed that he never
ing.
country.

would administer such Spartan treatment to


any one else. He gave no pieces, but many
etudes and much Bach. At the end of the half
year, I was free to go to another teacher to
Mme. Schumann if I wished. But I had
enough good common sense to see that I had

made

astonishing progress,

much greater prog-

So I wisely decided
American teacher.

ress than other students.

remain with my
"We were both working very hard, each in
our own way, without thought of any sentiment between us. I well remember my first
to

piece, after almost a year's study.

It

was the

Bach A minor Prelude and Fugue, transcribed


by

Liszt.

TEACHING MATERIAL,
teaching material did Mr. Macuse, you ask? I studied Czerny, HelCramer (the original, not the Biilow edi-

"What
Dowell
ler,

dementi's Gradus, and plenty of Bach,


the smaller pieces, Inventions and so on. Mr.
MacDowell did not give a great many tech-

tion),

Edward Macdowell,

as Teacher

129

forms outside of etudes. His idea was


and arpeggios need great concentration in order to render their practice beneficial.
Many students cannot concentrate sufficiently, in which case they are apt to lose time
nical

that scales

over these forms.


tice

scales

better

mean to say they will pracif

they are interestingly


when they are studied

treated in an etude than


alone.

"This was his idea. But Mr. MacDowell


never claimed he was always right in his views,
never felt his way was the only way. He was
ever broad minded in such matters. He would
say, 'I do not work just that way,' or 'I do not
see it in your light, but yours may be just as
had not very much
good a way as mine.'

He

use for so-called piano methods; he said there


was some good in each, but would not confine himself to

were so

any

one.

He

felt that as there

degrees of intelligence, so many


a different method was required
for each mentality. He did not always adopt

many

sorts of hands,

the Leschetizky idea of an arched hand at


least for small ones like mine.
principle of

his

was to develop the muscles of the palm of

the hand.

130 Piano

Mastery

THE UNDER

Second Series

SIDE OF

THE HAND

"This principle is one I have never heard


spoken of; he made a great point of it. The
under muscles are delicate, and care should be
taken? not to strain them; but with judicious
training much strength of hand and fingers can
be acquired through development of these muscles.
In my own case, I attribute the ability
to regain

my

technic quickly to this particular

principle.

marriage to Mr. MacDowell, I


relinquished all thought of making a career,
although he felt I had the necessary talent and
For fifteen years I scarcely touched
ability.
the piano.
I felt it more important to devote myself to caring for him, saving his time
in many ways and shielding him from unnecessary cares. Then I took up my music after
he passed away, and taught for five years. I

"After

my

have now had

five years in the lecture recital

field.

"For this work I needed to regain my techI find


nic, and what is more, to keep it up.
some of my husband's exercises employing the
palm or under muscles of the hand most beneficial.
Here are a few of them." Mrs. MacDowell sat down at the piano, and laying her

Edward Macdowell,

Teacher

as

131

outstretched hand on the keys without depressing them, raised the fingers singly and in pairs,

and let them fall softly on their keys, without


in the least disturbing or pressing the other
The fifth finger was
fingers lying at rest.
especially spoken of as needing this exercise.

"I practice pieces with

this

kind of touch,"

commented the speaker, "when I go over them


for technical purposes.

PLAYING SOFTLY

"One

of

Mr. MacDowelFs

ideas

was to

practice softly, with outstretched fingers. This


did not mean to the exclusion of other forms

of touch, else the player might lose force and


vitality of tone. You remind me that William

H. Sherwood

also advised soft tone for prac-

tice.

"Another quality of tone is secured by a


I was
slight drawing in of the finger tips.
told the other day, by a pedagogical authority,
that this touch was no longer in use was quite
out of date. I am glad to know that you and
others use it, and that various well-known
artists

approve of

it.

132

Piano Mastery

Second Series

MEMORIZING
memorizing away from the piano,
and in several ways. Perhaps the most effective way is the mental photograph I make of
the printed page. I can really see the notes
before me. I can also recite them, thinking
or speaking the two staves together, vertically,
not one and then the other, singly. I think one
"I do

my

should thoroughly know the piece in various


ways, otherwise one may meet disaster when

playing in public.

MACDOWELL'S CLASS

"A

very helpful means of study

nightly class, gave

These
in

classes

the fort-

zest to the student's work.

were regular

lessons, of course;

them the student was expected

to play a

piece through, in a semi-public manner. He


was not obliged to memorize, though he could,
if

he washed, play without the notes.

The

idea

was to go through the piece before others, so


that the master himself could judge of the
effect.

Students usually brought something

they had been recently working on in the alternate private lesson, or they might be asked to
play a selection that had been laid aside for a
few months, and needed review.

Edward

Macdotvell, as Teacher

133

INTERPRETATION

"Mr. MacDowell had a strong theory that


the pupil should use his own innate musical
and rhythmic feeling to get at the meaning of

He

the piece.
of his own to

sometimes gave a composition

two pupils

at the

same time, to

how they would work it out. He preferred


to have them express their own individuality, if
see

they did not offend against any musical law.


The first lesson on a piece was always devoted
to the technical side; after that

came the

inter-

pretation.

"In my recital work, I am always asked to


play MacDowell's music; this is quite to be
expected. I have a vivid memory of how he
played his compositions, and I believe I am
better able than any one else to give an adequate idea of his
tation."

own

desire as to its interpre-

XII

RUTH DEYO
THE TECHNIC OF INTERPRETATION
IT has been truly said of Ruth Deyo that
she has every attribute of a great pianist.
Technic indeed, of the sort that is "an art in
temperament, a strong musical nature,
and a something that appeals to an audience
and compels sympathetic attention. You may
call this something personal magnetism, or perBut it holds the
sonality or what you will.
listener to the mental picture or the series of
emotional states which are being depicted at
the piano and through which we must live with
itself,"

recital by Ruth Deyo is a rich


and emotional experience, and if
the pieces happen to be by her master, Edward
MacDowell, the occasion is truly a feast to the

the pianist.
intellectual

lover of his music.

MacDowell, who took deepest


her, felt that she really possessed

He

interest in

the divine

sent her to Europe, where she


spark.
studied for some time, making her debut in a
134

Photograph by Garo

Ruth Deyo

135

with tremendous success. She


and encouragement from such

recital in Berlin,

received advice

musicians as Paderewski, d'Indy, Busoni, Carreno, Bauer, and later from her admired
friend, Charles Martin Loeffler.

Everywhere she has played, both in Europe


and America, Ruth Deyo has won high praise.

A recent program consisting entirely

of

Mac-

Dowell's compositions, was given before the

MacDowell Club

of

New

York, and was

re-

by the large audience of musicians with


the highest approval. If Miss Deyo did nothceived

ing else but give her time and talents to making the music of our greatest composer known

from one end of the land to the other, she


would be doing a wonderful and uplifting
work.

But Ruth Deyo


interpreter, she

is

not alone a highly trained


a creative musician as well.

is

a small girl she gave a recital of her own


compositions at the World's Fair in Chicago.
She has already produced interesting pieces for

As

her instrument; we shall hope to become familiar with more of her work in the future.
Let us listen while Miss Deyo tells us a little

about her studies and her ideas of musical


development,

136 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

EARLY INTUITIONS
"I began to play by ear when I was two and
a half and to improvise when I was three,
of course not knowing the notes, nor having
the least idea of what I was doing. All I did
the piano made me
and seemed even more natural than

know was
happy

that to

sit at

playing with dolls.


"I wanted to reach the pedals and being
quite too small for this, I tried to obviate the
difficulty

my

by

sitting in a

hands far above

low rocking-chair with

me on

the keys.

My

fa-

took pity on me and had an


extension pedal made, the kind Josef Hofmann used when he made his tours as a small
ther, seeing this,

boy.

"My

parents would not allow

ploited as a

Wunder Kind

me

to be ex-

so I played in

public only occasionally and then only for


charity. I was allowed to give a recital of my
own compositions at the World's Fair in Chicago, but aside from this I was kept out of
doors a great deal and lived as healthy a life
as possible.
"Any talent which develops at a very early

age needs much guarding, otherwise it may


burn itself out before it has a chance to ma/-

Ruth Deyo

137

My parents wisely understood that true

ture.

development must be gradual and not


too meteoric and their understanding of what I
needed made all possible difference to my early
artistic

and saved me from much that I might have


had to undo later on.
life

"

WITH MASON AND MACDOWELL

"When

I was ten, I

studied with Dr.

William Mason, which instruction gave

me an

invaluable foundation.

"I had been away from

New York for some

time and was playing in Steinway Hall when


he happened to walk down the corridor. He
said to the friend

that

is

who was with him:

Ruth Deyo; I

'I

know

haven't heard her for a

long time, but I recognize her touch. Only one


who plays from the scapula can get such a

pure

tone.'

He

then came into the room.

was of course delighted to see him, for I had


always looked up to him with a kind of worship
as a child, and I was much touched that he
recognized

my playing.

"I was fifteen when I went to MacDowell.

His teaching was very suggestive. His conceptions were big and his interpretative sense
exceedingly fine. He was a very severe task-

138

Piano Mastery

master and he put

Second Series

me through a

rigid course of

technical training.

"He would not allow me to play anything


but exercises for two months after I began my
work with him. He rarely ever complimented,
but scolded me a great deal. In fact, I never
knew how much confidence he had in my future
nor what he really thought of my playing until
the last lesson I had from him, after having
studied with him for two years.
"(It seems he told my father very frankly
his opinion, but kept it carefully hidden from
me.)

"At

the final meeting of his Artist's Class


which was given at Columbia, I played the

Schumann
seventeen.

F sharp minor Sonata. I was just


He came to me afterward with

tears in his eyes and let me see for the first time
how deeply interested he was in
career and

my

what
ning.

You

faith he

He

me from

the begin-

'Now you must go

to Europe.

had had

said,

in

have studied long enough with

me

I can

teach you nothing more,' which was typical of


his unfailingly modest attitude toward every-

thing he did.

"I have always been deeply grateful to him


for developing, to the utmost,

my

powers when I was very young.

imaginative

He

believed

Ruth Deyo

139

absolutely in the necessity of putting the musical thought of the composition before everything that is, knowing clearly what the music

has to express and then applying the necessary technical means with which to express this.

He

was not interested

in technical problems
but
interested
in musical ones.
per se,
deeply
Also he never made sentimental comparisons

between the arts, which unfortunately he has


often been accused of doing.
He was too
and
sincere
a
nature
to
have such a
simple
pose.

THE ESSENTIALS OF PIANO TECHNIC


"I

feel

it

essential to

make

one's

equipment

good that the musical idea to be expressed


can be said truly and directly without the inso

terference of poor mechanism. It is necessary


to keep in mind the fact that technic is a 'means

an end' and only a means. Not merely to


say this and theorize about it; but to live it
and prove it in one's artistic life.
"There is, in music, an inescapable need of
two things to produce good music, either as
an interpreter or as a composer. These two
to

are:

first,

scientific

knowledge;

intuition.

highly developed
thing of prime importance, as

The
it is

second,

latter

is

the 'spark'

140 Piano

Second Series

Mastery

which gives life to a composition and without


which it is an inanimate and meaningless series
of notes. The former is the trained mentality
by means of which one is able to express with
scientific accuracy, and with the least waste of
energy, all the beauty one finds in a composition.

EXTERIORIZING THE MUSIC

"The power of 'exteriorizing'


portant one. I mean by that,

is

a most im-

the ability to

give to the audience the exact impression of


the music you desire to present to them,

thereby making the composition clear and inwhich it is bound


telligible and not muddled,
to be if

you only hear

it

and
work on it

in the inner ear

do not put the necessary technical


express all your inner thoughts to the

to

listener.

"The only way

to avoid this insidious

and

natural fault, is first to analyze the composition with great care, as to its thematic maThen
terial, its entire construction and so on.

analyze with equal care, the technical means


you apply to each part of the composition in

order to bring out each special effect. Try to


listen to yourself from the outside. You will
find this one of the

most

difficult

things to do

Ruth Deyo
and one of the most

fatal things to neglect.

the artist's safeguard and the


he becomes influenced by the audi-

Self criticism

moment

141

is

good opinion of him, in that moment is


he bound to deteriorate unless he constantly
keeps strict standards before him of what is
ence's

artistically right.

"An

artistic career is

not the path of 'roses

all the way' that it appears to be, and as it


should quite properly appear. The outward
glamour of it is one of its greatest charms, but

the inward glamour of unremitting, relentless


work to obtain the best and most beautiful results

is

really

much more

fascinating than

all

the outward displays of appreciation which


honest artistic living is sure to bring.
"All these expressions of appreciation are

tremendous incentives and real

necessities to

giving the best that is in him


to create a beautiful thing for his audience and

the artist

for his

who

own

is

artistic ideals.

PLAYING IN PUBLIC
"This brings me to the interesting question
of playing in public, and the necessary mental
control in order to accomplish it. It simply

means such a powerful and

clear projection of

the musical thought that an audience

is

moved

142

Piano Mastery

Second Series

to listen intently from beginning to end without the desire to let its mind wander to other
topics.

The

artist

must be convinced of what

doing before he can convince an audihe


must entirely forget himself while ocence;
cupied with his work. The sympathetic cur-

he

is

rent between an audience and the artist

is

one

of the most inspiring things in a public career.


I have never had this more strongly evidenced
in my own life than when I was playing with
the

Boston Symphony Orchestra.

shall

never forget the responsiveness of the Friday


afternoon audience. I did not even hear a
And
single cough through the whole concerto
!

there

was that indescribable something between


and piano
and every

the audience, orchestra, conductor


which seemed to make them all one

one's individuality sank in the interest of


tening to and interpreting the music.

lis-

really true artistic satisfaction, and


nothing short of this means anything. The
Royal Road to Art is, in spite of the necessity

"This

is

of keeping one's mind and heart open to all


the good things the world has to offer, a very

exacting and straight path.


"It is, however, infinitely worth every sacrifice; for the sacrifices only mean,
discarding
the useless, destructive elements and keeping to

Ruth Deyo
those that are constructive.

148
It

is

not always

easy to do so and one does not arrive at this


beatific state in a day but the struggle to gain
it is worth
every effort it costs and the rewards
;

are infinitely generous

if

one works for the love

of the working and without thought of immediate or dazzling results.

TONE PRODUCTION
"In my opinion the aim should be to get as
pure and 'unpiano-like' a tone as possible. By
that I mean the necessity of getting away from
using the fingers like mechanical hammers.
This gives to the tone a disagreeable quality,
and used to be, unfortunately, very often associated with piano playing.
Happily we are
trying to get away from this as much as possible at the present time; and much advance

has been made, owing to the realization of the


fact that pressure on the keys gives a tone of
far greater purity and beauty than striking a
key from a distance. Such a touch may be

employed
effects,

care.

for

but

it

special

reasons

and certain

ought to be used with great

144

Piano Mastery

Second Series

INTERPRETATION

"The first thing to do in learning a composiand its interpretation, is to study its musical content and understand its construction.
One must know what has to be accentuated
and why; where the high lights come, the clition

maxes, also the unimportant parts (so called)


though nothing in music is really unimportant.
very necessary part of true interpretation
is to have respect for each voice and to give
them all their proper value, not to play every
voice and every finger loud when we see / or ff

in front of us.

"One reason why the pianist can practice


Bach endlessly with no mental fatigue but with
increased delight is because of the constant interplay of many voices demanding different
qualities of tone.

how

It

so interesting to find
the voices are all woven together in a

supremely organic

is

fashion

with

no

waste

material.

PLAYING WITH POWER

"One

of the essentials of powerful playing


or power in playing, is immediate relaxation

key chord or octave has been struck.


This quick muscular contraction and relaxaafter the

Ruth Deyo

145

an entirely healthy exercise as there can


when properly controlled and at
the same time the possibility of producing a
powerful tone with no fatigue is limitless.
tion

is

be no strain

"Four things are essential to powerful playing: 1. Well developed and very strong fingers (arched hand is the safest position, though
some pianists play with fingers quite flat)
2.
Relaxed arm. 3. Impetus made from the
4. Immediate relaxation after the
shoulder.
.

chord has been played.


"Delicacy is obtained through loud practice,
thereby training the fingers in these passages,
which give them the proper background, as it
were,

and the necessary control over the

passage. After this is done, it is possible to


grade the tone from the loudest forte to the
softest pianissimo, and produce a most delicate
and at the same time clear tone which has equal

carrying power with a note produced with more


force.

KEEPING UP TECHNIC

"To keep

one's technic in order

personal matter and to lay


ficult.

My

own

down

is

rather a

rules

is

dif-

experience has been that a

amount of very concentrated practice


{iway from the piano is one of the most valuable

certain

146

Piano Mastery

ways of keeping

in

good

Second Series
condition.

exercises intelligently practiced are

Muscular
most bene-

ficial.

necessary to avoid undue fatigue, also


to keep the mind fresh, so that it does not grow
Also to practice the piece
musically stale.
"It

is

slowly and carefully with the notes no matter


well you think you know the composition
;

how

without them."

XIII

MARTINUS SIEVEKING
THE DEAD-WEIGHT PRINCIPLE

MAN who

has, according to his

own

ac-

count, solved all problems of the keyboard a


man who, during a dozen or fifteen years of

unremitting effort has built up for himself a


perfect piano mechanism, is truly a unique
figure in the pianistic world. Few artists are
willing to make, or can substantiate such a
claim.

some

Even

them confess to
they admit there are some
beyond their reach. The

the greatest of

limitations;

problems a little
eminent Holland pianist believes he has solved
them all he feels there is nothing on the tech;

beyond his ken.


Mr. Sieveking tells us

nical side

his

piano method

is

founded on scientific principles unknown up to


the present time. The most important of these
But
is the principle of dead or relaxed weight.
we, in America, have for over thirty years,
been familiar with Dr. William Mason's exposition of the principle of relaxation
147

and de-

148

Piano Mastery

vitalization.

teachers

and

Second Series

Some

of the most prominent


pianists among us to-day were

students of Mason, use his method and are


working along the lines laid down by him.
forget the ease and power this
principle gave their master's playing, nor his
beautiful touch and tone. Godowsky is a mod-

They cannot

who preaches relaxed, or dead


weight of hand and arm upon the key. It is
the vital principle of Hofmann's wonderful
ern master

art.

A host of others have testified to

its

value

and

necessity Powell, Carreno, Schnabel,


Leginska to say nothing of the Breithaupt
book on weight touch.

And now we

are told that the principle of


dead or relaxed weight has been unknown up
to the present time! What does it all mean?
Thus I mused as I proceeded to keep an

appointment with Mr. Martinus Sieveking,


who had recently arrived in this country from
Paris. It will be remembered that he toured
America years ago, and proved himself a brilI
liant pianist and most excellent musician.
mentally resolved to settle the subject of
weight touch with him the very first thing, before taking up other technical points which had
occurred to me to question him about.
Let it be recorded at once that I came, saw,

Martinus S lev eking

149

and became convinced that here was one who


had solved many if not most of the technical
difficulties of the piano.
While it may be too
much to claim that the principle of dead weight
has not been fully understood until now, it can
be truthfully stated that the Dutch pianist has
discovered a
in a

means of applying

manner that

this principle

improve touch and tone

will

in a short time. If his directions are implicitly


followed, the fingers will almost immediately
become stronger while the tone will increase in

volume and sonority. His authoritative words


and manner bespeak the autocrat; but a man

who has spent

a good part of his life in devising means to obtain a big, luscious tone, strong
fingers, fluent technic, and has succeeded to a

he has a right to be
conference will
Details of

Remarkable degree,
autocratic.

feels

this

surely be of deep interest to teachers


dents of the instrument.

and

stu-

I found Mr. Sieveking in his spacious studios, a man of commanding presence, winning

manner, and speaking English fluently. Two


grand pianos, one of foreign the other of

American make, stood


of the music room.

had been built for his

by side in the center


The French instrument
side

special use ; not only

were

Second Series

Piano Mastery

150

the keys wider, but the whole keyboard was


tilted a little downward at the back, which he
explained was a decided advantage.

HIS

"You want

to

METHOD

know about my method

of

"I will
using relaxed weight?" he began.
tell
all
I
is
what
I will
can;
more,
gladly
you
show you each step. Let us sit here at this
piano and demonstrate as we go along." As
he spoke he caught my hand by one finger and
held it up to test its weight; in fact he let the
hand hang by one finger and then by another
as he talked.
people think they are using dead
when the truth is they do
weight
not really understand the principle at all. I
could mention a few pianists who do use it.

"Many

in playing,

Godowsky
reno

also.

from the

does to a considerable extent, CarIt requires absolute concentration

start, until it

has become so

much

part of one's being that it is 'second nature.'


Its use increases the volume of tone in a wonderful degree."

All

this

pended
the

arm

time

in air;

my

hand had been held

now he

let

sus-

go of the finger and

fell.

"You have an understanding

of the dead

Martinus Sieveking

151

weight in the arm now we will see if you can


put it into the fingers."
The second finger of the right hand was
placed on the key D, in a firmly arched posi;

The other fingers were well curved and


raised, thumb extended from the hand, and
arm hung down naturally at the side. Mr.
tion.

Sieveking believes in arched hand, well curved


fingers and high, free finger action, for all technical finger exercises.
says: "The fingers
should be raised as high as possible (without

He

strain).

technic without
is

on

insist

I do not believe

it

it.

important point, as
possible to develop a fine
this

Sometimes the

flat finger

employed by virtuosi to secure a beautiful

tone, but at first the student should confine

himself to the curved finger."


and
The second finger, resting on the key
supporting the entire weight of hand and arm,
was now tested over and over, by being lifted

high and then allowed to

fall back on the key.


increased
as
thought was conweight
sciously directed to this point.

Arm

"Perfectement!
now you have it

Now you
!

see

what I mean

With your arm supported

tip of the second finger, play a down


stroke with the third finger, over and over

on the

again, always maintaining this heavy, weighted

152 Piano. Mastery

Second Series

feeling in the hand and arm. Of course you


are familiar with the different sets of muscles

which work the fingers, some of which

lie on
on
the
and
others
underside of the arm.
top
The extensors on top of the arm do the lifting,
and as lifting is more difficult to accomplish
than dropping or falling, we must give greater

heed to the raising of the finger, that

it

may

be done with quickness and exactness."

EACH FINGER BY

ITSELF

was now used as supit was exercised with


quick up-and-down movements. No weakness
or bending, no hesitation in movement, no lifting except in an exactly straight line were
allowed. The stroke was made with as much
power as possible. Every player and teacher
knows how important it is to gain power and
clearness, and feels the need of some sure way

Each

finger in turn

port, while the one next

I
to acquire these with the right conditions.
had made
own experiments along these

my

now it was a satisfaction to meet with a


master who had worked them out so logically.
"We have now done the first exercise I give
the students who come to me. The second goes
a step further. As you see the first step only
lines

employs one finger at a time for I consider it a


;

153

Martinus Sieveking,

great mistake to play so-called five finger exercises, at first.

The only sound

basis for technic

The
to begin with one finger at a time.
second step employs two fingers in legato, but
is

always with dead weight of arm, supported on

We

the finger tips.


must be conscious of this
condition at all times, which means at first
constant thinking. One should also play with

each hand alone, as concentration


important factor of all the work.

is

a most

THE PROOF

"A

who

has taken the two steps, as


we have just done, has already the proof of
what this method will do for him. In one hour

player

I can convince him of

its benefits.

With two

hours daily practice for one week, he will find


his tone increased and his fingers appreciably
stronger."

OCTAVE TRAINING

"What

about octaves?" he was asked.

"We

need strength, suppleness and rapidity


for octaves. I have special training for octaves.
They call into requisition the muscles of the
forearm the wrist
;

is

hand and forearm.

but the hinge between the


With the hand in arched

form, the playing fingers curved and firm,

we

154

Second Series

Piano Mastery

cultivate each finger in turn, with quick hand


strokes on the key. Of course, for octaves, the
first and fifth are most important, but all fin-

gers can come in for this sort of training. At


first use four repetitions on each key, and play
up and down the keyboard, at least four octaves.

Use

the diatonic and chromatic scales.

After these have been learned, I have invented


various exercises which employ 8ths, 7ths, 6ths,
5ths and 4ths, in this way," and he ran over
these forms with the greatest ease and speed.

TRAINING THE
"I have also

many

THUMB

exercises for training the

thumb in scale playing. Here is the first one:


With the second finger on a black key and the
arm weight suspended on it, the thumb passes
from the white key on one

side of

it

to the

white key on the other side of it, the thumb


describing an arched movement from one key
to the other.

under

all

The thumb

is

also trained to pass

the other fingers."


special counsel to give in the

"Have you any

matter of memorizing?"

MEMORIZING
"In the first place, try to have the pupil learn
something of harmony even a little is helpful,
;

Martinus Siev eking

155

It will enable
better than nothing.
to analyze the music sufficiently to give
it is

some

little

idea of

what he

is

him
him

trying to play.

Take a small portion of the piece, say two


measures at a time, learn one hand and then
the other.

Know them so thoroughly the notes

can be recited or written.


out the piece

away from

"I have had and

Thus one can think

the instrument.

now have

students of great

talent studying with me, several of


ners of the Premier Price in Paris.
testify to the benefits received

study of
weight.

them win-

They

all

from careful

my exposition of the principle of dead


I have embodied these principles and

exercises into a system ; I hope to have the work


published later on." Mr. Sieveking took a

book from the table and asked me to look it


over. The text and musical illustrations were
all written by his own hand, the former in clear,
elegant English.
"This is a life work," he said. "I have written it to aid teachers and students, for all must
learn these principles. I have come to America
for this purpose, leaving my home and family
in Paris.

ing

my

I intend to return after accomplishmission here. Oh, yes, I shall con-

certize in

America; but I especially desire to

156

Piano Mastery

Second Series

compose. Here is a little piece, a Nocturne,


which I began in Paris and finished in New

Would you like to hear it?"

York.

He

began to play and I was soon absorbed

in listening to the quality of his tone, so big,


sweet and penetrating. Once he turned to me

"Do you like it it's nice, isn't it?"


After a little he broke off. "I really cannot
play on an ordinary sized keyboard, and my
French piano is being repaired. On this one
my fingers seem to get between the black keys
and I can't get them out." And he held up
those wonderful hands of his, surely the largest, most muscular and perfectly developed
naively;

among piano hands.


"You see that photograph
pointing to a picture
Rubinstein's, the other

They

on the

of

my own

are almost identical.

two hands?"

wall.
side

"One
by

is

side.

Rubinstein's fin-

gers had cushions on the ends; I

believe these

are necessary to play the piano successfully.


"Oh, yes, I use the metronome; you see I
have one of extra size standing there."

The Holland master


in hard work.

a thorough believer
"I condemn my pupils to hard
is

"Technic is brains, plus


he says.
To acrightly trained muscles and nerves.
labor,"

Martinus Sieveking

157

quire a technic, keep it up and constantly improve it, should be the aim of every pianist."

A VISIT TO SIEVEKING

"Come down and

see

me

next Sunday after-

noon

there will be music," wrote Martinus


Sieveking, the Dutch pianist and composer,

on Long Island. The


invitation was alluring the day proved fair and

from

his sylvan retreat


;

we

went.

Mr. Sieveking had chosen

summer not on

to locate for the

the shore but a

little

inland,

where green lawns and shrubbery abound.


With him were Mrs. Elliott and Miss Inez
Elliott, a young pianist, who had studied with
accomplished teacher for the past ten
He considers her a thorough mistress
years.
of his method, and as yet the only authorized

this

exponent of

When we

in this country.
arrived at the villa, sounds of a

it

piano met us before we reached the garden


Bach was being played with amazing
gate.

We

fluency and velocity.


paused to listen and
waited till the tones ceased before pressing
the bell.

The player responded, opened

the

door and led us at once into the parlor which


served as his music room. It was a square
room with several windows looking out to the

158 Piano
green.

On

Mastery

Second Series

a small mantle shelf stood a few

drawings; prominent among them a photograph of Adelina Patti, sent him in commemoration of her seventieth birthday. Two concert grands took up the major portion of the

room, though the whole space seemed dominated by the presence of the pianist himself.
One felt here was a big personality; a man who

had thought much, studied deeply, had lived


and suffered.
In answer to some of my questions regarding his early life and career, the artist said:
"I was surrounded by musical influences
from the beginning of my life. My father was
a thoroughly trained musician, a conductor and
composer, my mother was a singer. I have
I think
always lived in a musical atmosphere
this is one of the essentials if one would become
a musician. At a very early age I began to
:

play the piano; before long I began to compose. At twelve I played organ in a church.

Later on I went to Vienna, to Leschetizky.


The Professor took great interest in me and
was especially kind. There were six of us,
chosen out of a class of ninety, to be his special
favorites; they were: Hambourg, Gabrilowitsch,

myself.

Goodson,

Schnabel,

Newcomb and

Martinus Sieveking

i"59

"After those happy student days, I concertized everywhere ; I

came

to

America

also.

But

I was not satisfied with the success I had won,


nor with what I had achieved. I felt there
were deeper principles underlying my art
which I did not yet understand. So I set to
work to discover them. The result is the
method I have formulated, which has cost me
fifteen years' hard labor. But I am satisfied
with the result I feel I have won out ; I feel I
;

have gained the correct principles of true piano


Life has been a bitter struggle at
technic.
times. Sometimes I have had to go hungry
I have even had to starve
Thank Heaven, all
that is over; there are now no financial worries.
My aim is to benefit others with my dis!

I want to help teachers to teach better and players to play better.


I often give
coveries.

much time

to those with talent

to pay, yet are deserving.

who

are unable

I want to be sur-

rounded by talented, congenial people wherever I am."


Yielding to our request, he began to play.
First his Souffranee, written three years ago,
his son was very ill.
It expresses a

when

father's anxiety for the recovery of the stricken

one.

After

this

"Moonlight."

Beethoven, Op. 27, No. 2, the


violin Gavotte,

Then a Bach

160 Piano

Mastery

transcribed for piano

Second Series
himself.

by

Next some

Chopin, and

finally one of his latest compositions, a Nocturne, embodying a haunting, appealing melody. "Women like this piece," he
remarked, in answer to our openly expressed
admiration. "This and the Souffranee have,
I think, the right to exist they are modern but
;

not futuristic, for I cannot write in that style.


The Nocturne is a little after the manner of
I quite frankly acknowledge it. It
certainly does not copy the Polish master, for
it is distinctly modern; but it is in his spirit.

Chopin

I wrote it while staying in a beautiful villa,


where there was a lovely garden with flowers
and fruit. Blue skies overhead and sunshine
and moonlight. Who could help being influenced by such surroundings. I have tried to
express the feelings the environment made
upon me. Some composers write from the
heart, like Beethoven; some from the head, like
Strauss.
Wagner expressed both head and
heart."

MOEE ABOUT HIS METHOD

A little

later he brought out the

MS

copy

of his method, placed it upon the piano, and we


fell to discussing the material and doing the
exercises.

After each one had been tried he

Martinus Sieveking
would say

161

"Do you approve of this ? Do you

Is it not a good exercise?


it will help?
one
who
can
Any
play this with endurance and
velocity has technic. These scale exercises will

think

surely help everybody."

The master

constantly spoke of the dead


weight principle the weight of arm hanging
on the finger tips. While all this is true, the

term "dead weight" does not, to my mind, convey the whole truth, and may mislead the uninitiated. It gives no idea, for example, of the
extreme firmness of the fingers, nor of the
muscular energy used to depress the keys in all
finger exercises.

It

is this

element of energy,

combined with arm weight, which give power


and sonority to the tone. Sieveking insists on
high, large movements of fingers for all technical exercises and wants all the sonority that
can be brought from the instrument. His

whole mentality is built on large lines of


thought: even his handwriting corresponds.
Yet he can caress the keys most delicately when
he wills to do so.
Later in the afternoon we had tea and delicious cakes made by Miss Elliott's fair hands.
Sieveking was genial and told many anecdotes.
He wished me to examine the hand of his pupil

and note

its

beautiful

development.

"She

162

Piano Mastery

Second Series

plays with the greatest perfection," he said.


"You shall hear her; I insist she make a
career."

The blaze of a glorious sunset met our eyes


as we all left the villa and sauntered through
the quiet, hedge-bordered streets, flanked by
pretty villas and gardens. Our genial host insisted

on accompanying us

to the train

and

see-

As

he stood there on
the little platform, waving us a farewell, his
tall figure looming dark against the lambent
sunset sky, the whole made an "impression"
not to be forgotten. Had we only possessed
the necessary gift, the scenes of the afternoon
ing us safely aboard.

might have served as basis for a futuristic tone


poem. Fortunately, or otherwise, we could
only keep the group of mental pictures to hang
on Memory's walls.

XIV

MARGUERITE MELVILLELISZNIEWSKA
THE ART OF THE TEACHER
To meet and

is

talk with Marguerite Melville


almost equivalent to being taken directly into

the studio of the late Theodor Leschetizky himself.


This gifted American was the Viennese

master's pupil and assistant for more than six


years; she saw him under all sorts of conditions,

understood him thoroughly, and always

knew how to "take him." She can describe the


man, his personality, his manner of teaching, of
treating and handling pupils, so vividly and
inimitably, that you feel you have really been

famous work-room yourself, and eyewitness to the happenings there. You scarcely
know which interests you more, the keen, analytical methods of the master, or the charming
personality, ready wit and tact of the raconin the

teur.

Like her distinguished compatriot, Edward


MacDowell, Marguerite Melville was born in
163

164

Piano Mastery

Second Series

New York
him

City, .of Scotch-Irish stock. Like


she has talent for piano playing, composi-

and pedagogy. In place of his gift for


drawing and painting, she possesses a voice and
the ability to sing. Well-known vocalists advised her to specialize in singing. But she had
tion,

the "pianistic bee in her bonnet," as she puts it,


and chose the piano as her medium of expression.

A "LITTLE MOZART"
Marguerite Melville inherited music and

from earliest recollection, as her


father was an organist and her mother a singer.
When little more than a child she left her native land, as protegee of William Steinway,
and went to Berlin to study with Dr. Jedliczka.
lived in

it

This remarkable pedagogue took great interher studies, and used to call her "his lit-

est in

She found him a helpful, inspiring teacher, especially on the interpretative


side. At his death she proceeded to Vienna to
tle

Mozart."

study with Leschetizky.

After a short period with an assistant she


came to the master. He soon recognized in
the young girl a rare spirit, one of the chosen.
She relates that, contrary to others who feared
the ordeal of lessons with the professor, she

Marguerite Melville-Liszniewska
felt like

him.

out of a cage when she got to


was a musician she could consult

a bird

Here

let

who understood her and apher talent. Not only did she enjoy

and advise
preciated

165

with,

his personal friendship in the home, but had


the honor to become one of his leading assist-

which post she occupied for six years.


During her last season in Vienna, she took
ants,

twenty-two of her pupils to the master, besides


those he specially asked her to prepare for him.
"I love to teach," she says "I feel I can understand the student's difficulties, for I have been
through so much myself; I can help him over
the hard places. It is often only a little stiff;

ness here or there

in the wrong place


a lack
of understanding, lack of sympathetic tone or
expression; it may be but a little thing which

stands in the way, which I am able to remove.


I feel, too, that I can impart some of my own

enthusiasm to the student."


On a certain occasion we had met to discuss
the subject of piano playing

and teaching.

TECHNIC A PERSONAL MATTER

"You want to talk about technic, I am sure,"


began Mme. Melville, with her charming smile.
"Technic

such an individual thing; it seems


to belong to each one personally. In its broadis

166 Piano

Second Series

Mastery

est sense it is

eral player.

not well understood by the genFor this very reason a student

might have listened to Leschetizky and not


have known what he was talking about.
"There are a number of Vorbereiters in
Vienna, but each one teaches in a different way,
which shows there are no fixed and fast rules.

Mme.

Bree, for instance, advises high finger


For my
action; some of the others do not.

own part

I feel the best

to individual needs.

way is

to

fit

the technic

pupil with a heavy


hand and inert fingers needs decided, wellarticulated finger action, in order to lighten
things, and develop the muscles; whereas
the long, thin hand, with spidery fingers, may

up

need opposite treatment sometimes to hold


the fingers down a bit, to make them cling to
the keys and thus develop weight in them.

RELAXATION

"One hears a great deal of talk about relaxation,

The

apt to be misunderstood.
think he relaxes, when his arm

but that, too,


pupil

may

is

is

actually quite light, showing it


erly loose, for a really relaxed

heavy.

The arm undoubtedly

thing.

It

diaphragm

is
is

is

not prop-

arm

is

very

controls everythe seat of power; it is what the


to the singer, the basis of every-

Marguerite Melville- LiszniewsJca


thing.

amount

167

the reservoir of weight. Whatever


or quality of tone you want, you bring

It

is

more or less weight of arm on your fingers you turn on the weight through the arm,
or turn it off, in just such quantity as you
to bear
;

need.

"Of course we cannot do without finger action; we must have it for the development of
fingers

and for certain

be taught

it

effects

at the start.

But

beginners must
later

on we can

get the fingers nearer the keys and thus gain


in weight and ease of delivery, without such
a high lift of finger.

ILLUSTRATIONS

"To

illustrate

how Leschetizky

suited his

teaching to each player: He often told one


pupil to play a passage a certain way. The

next pupil might be advised to play the same


passage in quite a different manner. This was
the cause of some amusing errors on the part
of students.
One would hear another told

how

to interpret a certain piece.


elation he thinks, 'Ah, yes, that is the

exactly

With
way it

Goes home, practices the piece


comes to the next lesson, and is

should be done.'

thus and so;


told that is not the

way to play the

"When I brought my own

piece at all.
pupils to the pro-

168

Piano Mastery

Second Series

I always accompanied them and sat


near them during the ordeal. Of course they
were often nervous, and this condition did not
fessor,

improve their performance. Sometimes the


professor made sarcastic remarks their inability to grasp the full import of which did not
;

improve the situation. I could usually pacify


him and smooth things over for the pupil. I
always tried to have her go right on, in spite
of everything. If the professor was ruffled at
her failure to apprehend his meaning, I would
say: 'Don't expect quite so much; the pupil
can't at once do all you require; you must be

more humble

don't look for perfection yet.'

AMERICAN TACT

"One
wrong.

particular day something had gone


It was class-day, too ; a number of stu-

dents had already assembled in the salon.


I came I found the master pacing up

When

and down

in the next room, in a rising state of


I tried to calm him, but he utterly

excitement.

refused to be pacified. 'Very well,' I said, 'you


surely cannot have the class to-day; I will go
in

and dismiss them.

other day.'
instantly,

seemed in

I'll tell

them

to

come an-

At this ultimatum, he calmed down

went into the salon, and had never


a more amiable, sunny mood,

Marguerite Melville-Liszniewska

169

"Of course I have witnessed some harrowing


Leschetizky would sometimes criticize very harshly a player whom he
thought conceited and self satisfied. If I rescenes in the studio.

monstrated at such severity he would retort:


'If a pupil cannot stand my criticism, how will
he ever endure being flayed by the critics ? He
must learn to stand up under rough handling.'

"Some

of the foreign students, generally

Americans, seemed posthe


idea
sessed with
they must get a few lessons with the master before returning home, so

though not always

they could

call

themselves his pupils.

The Vor-

bereiters were often besieged with undesirable


Great tact was needed to steer
applicants.
safely around these obstacles.
"One such case I recall. The pupil was
really lacking in ability, but had staked all her

hopes on having one lesson with Leschetizky.


It had fallen to my lot to prepare her, and I
soon found I could do little or nothing for her.

So I explained the case to the professor, asking


him to be easy with her for my sake. Her
trouble was lack of rhythm clearness also. At
the appointed time I brought her to him. She
seated herself at the piano with a flourish and

began.

The

professor showed signs of uneasi-

170 Piano

Second Series

Mastery

and soon remarked, 'You might play

ness

clearer.'

"

than that?' she answered, as


he
were
though
demanding the impossible.
Soon she was told she played wrong notes.
"
'I assure you, professor, I have practiced
this piece a great deal, and have never played
'Clearer

wrong notes at home


"I saw the premonitions of storm,
!'

so sugthe
lesson
should
terminate
at
half
the
gested
hour, as the professor had another engagement.

The young lady was not

pleased with her lesson, but she could at least say she had had one.

MEMORIZING
"In regard to memorizing," continued the
pianist,

"I

feel

one should do

the easiest way.


eye, ear and finger
such a mental picture of
it

There are three factors

memory.

To make

the printed notes that you can shut your eyes


and see them; to hear so accurately that your
mental ear knows them also to feel them and
;

know

their position

on the keyboard

all

these

make the piece very sure. Some players


commit their pieces in all three ways. For

should

myself I can hardly say whether any one of


these predominate. I can affirm that when I
can play the piece I know it by heart. Musi-

Marguerite Melville- Liszniewska

171

cians have often told

me

I have a wonderful

I can retain

my

music almost

memory

indefi-

Paderewnitely. The other day, after hearing


ski, I came home, thinking of the pieces I used
to play of his
Melodie, Nocturne and other
I haven't seen the printed pages of
things.
these for years, nor played them. I went to the

piano and found them right under my fingers,


without a slip. This ability to retain the notes
in

mind stands me

in

good stead for

my recital

work, when, under stress of teaching and many


interruptions, I am not able to secure sufficient
time for practice.

FOREIGN STUDY

"In regard to foreign study for Americans,


I do not see the reason for opposing it. They
are obliged to learn a new language, of itself
an education. They see new lands, learn to

know new
ways of

people, become familiar with

living.

All

benefits their music.

new

broadens them and


They hear quantities of

this

music, opera, orchestral and chamber concerts


and recitals, which they would never have the

opportunity to hear at home, at the price. If


fond of Shakespeare, they will at least see more
of him in one season in Germany than in a lifetime in America.

These are a few reasons for

172

Piano Mastery

going abroad.

Second Series

Conditions

may be

entirely dif-

ferent hereafter; one cannot predict.

DEVELOP THE MUSICAL SIDE


"People often speak as though Leschetizky
cared only to bring out the virtuosity of the
student, to form him into a brilliant pianist.

This was true to a certain extent, but

it

was

also true that he sought to develop the musical


side, which ought to underlie all virtuosity.

"Here is one illustration of what I mean. It


was the case of a little Polish boy of twelve.
He really had a big talent, but was fond, when
at the piano, of putting on the airs of a virtuoso. I did not prepare him for the professor
but I knew him, as he lived in the same pension.
When he came to play in class, he walked up
to the piano, seated himself as though he were
some great one, and dashed into a Chopin Polonaise.

He

didn't

want

played it brilliantly, but had not


gone more than eight measures, when Leschetizky went up, took his hands off the keys and
pushed him off the stool, saying such playing
was nothing but Polish exaggeration, and he
the

to see

little fellow,

him

again.

who was

all

felt

keenly for

broken up over

the turn of affairs so I tried to pacify the professor, saying perhaps the stool was not quite
;

Marguerite Melville-Lisznie'wska
right, or he

173

may have been nervous, and begged

he might have another chance. The professor


then turned on me, saying, 'You women, you
must spoil everything.' I was a bit cross with
him for his attitude toward the boy, but I can
see now that he saw this streak of superficiality
and exaggeration, and wanted to get it out. He
could have done so, if he had had time to work
with him. The boy needed several more such
knocks. Five years later I heard him now a
in Copenhagen.
He was
full-fledged artist

then merely a brilliant virtuoso, entirely super-

and seemed to me quite on the wrong


That special sort of superficial exagtrack.
geration was what the professor tried to kill in
ficial,

the boy of twelve.

A SUSCEPTIBLE PUPIL

"An

instance of

how Leschetizky would

handle a susceptible pupil.


ish lad, just over twenty,

He was also a Polwho came with

his

She was devoted to him and looked


after everything. The fellow was rather shy
and given to blushing. The professor, of
course, sized up his mentality and took delight

mother.

in saying things to shock him, just to see him


color up. Once, when he had something ex-

pressive to play, he

was asked

174
"

Piano Mastery

'How do you make

Second Series
love to a girl?

I sup-

pose you would say, shyly, "I love you ;" whereas you should say it this way
the professor
struck an attitude and said the words with the
'

greatest ardor.

ILLUSTRATING INTREPRETATION
*

"Leschetizky used to say there are no good


teachers, only

students

who

good

pupils!'

love music, yet

There are many

work

for years

without getting beyond the clumsy, amateurish stage. They play everything on a dead level
of monotony. It is for us as teachers to help
such struggling ones over the intermediate
stage to the place where they can bring some
light and shade into their performance. I try
to show them where and how to use variety of

tone and accent.

Sometimes I use a characteristic group of words that will just fit the phrase,
and will give the right idea of stress. It is often
in little turns and ornaments that the student's lack of deftness stands out.

When

the

pupil played a clumsy turn, Leschetizky would


say: 'Don't build your balcony as big as your
house.' If the pupil asked just where to begin
a crescendo, the professor would point to a
leaf

and answer:

'Can you see just where

leaf begins to curve?'

this

Marguerite Melville- Lisznietvska


"The longer I am

in the work, the

175

more I

see the lack of talent for interpretation in the


average pupil, or even in those who have more

than the average aptitude. Perhaps not more


than one in fifty has any sort of an idea how
the piece should sound as a whole, without be-

You would

think they might feel


where this part should be subdued and that
part be brought out; where the melody should

ing told.

be prominent or a hidden theme heard, where


a retard or pause would be effective. Why

must they always be

told these things,

why

cannot they be felt?


"The professor never gave me special ideas
for my own interpretation he seemed satisfied
;

with

my conception.

One

has to be born with

He

used
of proportion.
it
be
feel
can't
don't
taught
you
you
Either you can play Schumann or you

a sense of balance
to say, 'If
it.

can't.'

"At

first

I used to think I could get a great

on interpretation by going to class


and listening to the others. But I found he
would treat the same piece quite differently for

many

ideas

different pupils. If one took a certain reading as final, he was apt to find it changed on

another occasion, if another pupil played the


So I gave up this idea. But when I
piece.

176 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

began to take my own pupils to the professor


I saw the benefit of listening, for I began to
appreciate the versatility of a great teacher.

TONE IN PIANO PLAYING


"It seems to
ing

is

tone

me

the principal thing in play-

a beautiful, sympathetic quality,

as near like the

human voice as

possible.

When

Casals plays the opening scale passage in the C


major Prelude of the Bach Suite, as he does

with such marvelous shading on each note, it


is the tone which holds the audience
spellbound
;

for there

is

no accompaniment to take attention

from the player.


art that

is

It seems to

me

the greatest

thinkable.

"I always try at once to interest my pupils


It is a great incentive to those
who have not formerly cared much for their
music, or who may have lost interest in it.
To make everything they touch beautiif it be
ful,
only a scale or a Czerny
in tone study.

study,

gives

zest

to

one's

practice.

never allow them to hit the keys, but rather


to press or caress them. Even chords can be
pulled up, to draw the tone out of the piano.
Of course the fingers must have well-developed
action.

trained

I might say they are like perfectly


animals, that run here and there

little

Marguerite Melville-Liszniewska

177

to do our bidding; or they are the brushes with

which we paint the pictures.

"Music is such a beautiful art; we


need it here in America, a country

especially
so full of

the superficial, the rush of business and material interests.


Artistic things get so easily
pushed to the wall or crowded out of our lives.

Even the least inclination to learn music

should

be encouraged in people of all ages. No one


can foresee all it may mean to the individual.

Americans are naturally


ceptive, but

many

artistic,

the soil

is

re-

material things smother ar-

tistic instincts.

"The

attitude of

such as will help

its

some toward music


cultivation.

We

is

not

haven't

sufficient respect yet for the art, the artist or


the teacher. Some think if they don't like the

playing of
is with the

or that performer, the trouble


artist.
They are not willing to be

this

humble enough to learn from one who is so far


above them in knowledge. One sees this spirit
in students

who go

abroad.

If in the lesson,

Leschetizky only heard a small portion of the

and chose rather

and expound his


ideas, they often grew restive, wanted to turn
the page, get over a lot of ground get their
money's worth! 'You should be glad to hear
piece,

to talk

178

Marguerite Melville-Liszniewska

what I have to say; it is of more value to you


than for you to play the piece,' he would say.
"I often hear it said of a young musician who
has come before the public in recital, that he
should not have ventured out yet; he was not
ready, and so on. I feel differently. He had
probably come to the point in his experience
when he wanted to give out something within
him which could no longer be repressed. For
him it was a step forward, a test to show him
where he stood. He no doubt will reap more
benefit from it than will his listeners. For now
he can advance much more surely and intelligently."

XV

MRS. H. H.

A.

BEACH

HOW A COMPOSER WORKS


OUR
Beach,

American-born
is

artist,

Mrs. H. H. A.

both a composer of high rank and a

pianist of distinction.

As a player, one
many of those rare

critic

has said:

"She has

elements that conspire to


the true pianist.
have seldom heard
delicacy and force, a poetic interpretation and
a prosaic vigor so well combined. Grace, in-

make

telligence

We

and sympathy are

chief characteris-

of her playing."

tics

After years of quiet study and home

life in

Boston, followed more recently by a lengthy


sojourn in Europe, Mrs. Beach, again at home,
has emerged somewhat from her seclusion, and

now

bringing the message of her own music


to the many who are eager to hear it. Thus

is

becoming personally known through her


interpretative recitals and her very charactershe

is

rendering of her compositions.


As a composer Mrs. Beach is known and

istic

179

180

Piano Mastery

Second Series

loved over the length and breadth of the land,


for her many beautiful songs and piano pieces.

Those who are familiar with such gems as


Ecstasy, The Year's at the Spring, June, and

many

others

may

not

know

that the composer

has written in the larger forms. Her Gaelic


Symphony has been played a number of times

by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and also


by the symphony orchestras of many other
It has lately met with an enthusiastic
cities.
reception in Philadelphia, under the baton of
Stokowski. Her piano Quintet, Mass in
flat, Sonata for piano and violin, and her choral

works

attest the variety

and scope of her

cre-

ative activities.

Dr. Percy Goetschius says of Mrs. Beach,


the composer:
"She writes both like a

man and

a woman.

Her music

manifests traits of a delicacy and


tenderness scarcely attainable by a masculine
nature, and masculine traits as genuine and
If a recital
virile as any man could exhibit."

of her works could be given without her name


being attached, "those accustomed to proclaim

the superiority of the male composer would


possibly, without exception, fail to suspect they
artistic creations of a

were listening to the

woman."

Mrs. H. H. A. Beach
It

had long been

my

desire to

come

181
into per-

My

sonal touch with this rare individuality.


desire was realized when I was privileged to

her apartments in the heart of old New


York, which she has made her headquarters for
the past two months. Who could help feeling

visit

home

in the presence of this cheery little


lady, with her cordial handclasp, her genial
manner, her clear blue eyes and sunny smile?
at

The moments flew all too quickly as she spoke


of her work as pianist and composer.
"Really, I cannot remember when I did not
play the piano and compose. I know I was
doing both at the age of four. I improvised little melodies then, but did not know how to
write

them down.

"My
with

first

whom

piano teacher was

I studied for a

my

mother,

number of

years,

might be benefited by a change,


when I was placed under well-known masters.
I played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra,
under Theodore Thomas, when I was still in
short dresses, with my hair in a pigtail. I have
kept up my piano work, and always expect to
do so. When I am not playing I am composI do them both intering, and vice versa.
changeably and constantly, but not both at the
same time. This keeps me fresh for each one.
until she felt I

182
I

Second Series

Piano Mastery

am a dual personality and lead a double musi-

cal life.

"I have naturally a very flexible hand, which


does not become stiff if practice is relaxed for
a

Then

am

old-fashioned enough to believe in scales and exercises. I like to give an


bit.

hour a day to these whenever possible. I do


them on this little dumb keyboard, this small
black case, which serves my purpose on trains
and in hotels. At home in Boston I use the
Virgil clavier,

on

and thoroughly enjoy working

People are so fond of saying a soundless


keyboard is mechanical is it any less mechanical to do your technical work on a keyboard
with tone? The exercises are the same. Should
we not wish to save the wear and tear on our
ears! My hearing is extremely sensitive, and
it.

I want to save

it all

I can.

I often learn

my

pieces and all difficult passages on the clavier.


It is a good idea to learn the Debussy Toccata
on the clavier. Did you ever try to practice
this piece slowly on the piano?
The discords

are so distressing they fairly hurt. The clavier


came to my relief in this instance ; I don't believe I ever could

I had done

it all

have learned the piece

if

on the piano.

"As for practice material, I use the Rosenthai Technics.


There are several books of

Mrs. H. H. A. Beach
these,

and I have found them excellent.

of course, I invent a

my

183

good many

Then,

exercises of

own."

"Can you tell me something about your work


how you do it; or is that too
in composition
a question?"
Mrs. Beach's eyes twinkled.

difficult

"It would be very difficult to tell how I do


it, but I can tell you where; always in the open,
out of doors, I want to
be in the midst of nature when I write. If it
is cold or bad weather when I write I try to

I like to

if possible.

sit

have a room with wide windows, or a balcony.


"I cannot write unless I am in the mood, or
have the inspiration. I cannot say to myself,
*I will compose three hours a day.' That would
reduce the work to mere mechanism, without
the divine spark.
theme or subject often
rests in my mind for months or a year before I
put it on paper. I always compose away from
the piano unless it be an accompaniment that
I want to try with the voice part, then I some-

times take

it

to the piano, to see

what changes

are needed.

"The subject
at

my

for the

recent concert

Fugue which

was

in

my

over a year before I ever jotted


was in Switzerland at the time.

I played
thought for
it

down.

We had gone

184
to

Piano Mastery

Meran.

It

Second Series

was about

From my windows

this

time last year.

could be seen the whole

range of snow-capped mountain peaks; the

was truly enough to inspire one. I felt


moved to put down the general plan of the
correct copy of the Fugue
Fugue on paper.
has not yet been made. This leaves me free to
makes changes whenever I wish. Sometimes a
sight

new

idea occurs to

public; I use
to this

it

me when

then and there.

Fugue was

am

playing in

The Prelude

actually composed at the

I wanted to give it the character of an


piano
improvization, and think I have succeeded.
:

"The

draft of a composition is so fragmentary that it looks almost like shorthand. I


can hardly write my thoughts down fast
first

enough, and don't take time to make everything


clear. For instance, if I have a chromatic run,
I put the first note and the last, and draw a line

between them, for I can't stop to write all those


I know what the signs mean,
accidentals.
though others might not.
"Although I like to let an idea rest quietly
in mind for a long time, so that I can live with
it before I put it on paper, yet sometimes I
write it down at once, while I am in the mood.
"Mr. Stoddard, the poet, once sent me,
through a friend, a few verses, wondering if I

Mrs. H. H. A. Beach

185

could do anything with them. They arrived in


the morning mail. I read them they suggested
a musical setting. I began to work, and by
twelve the song lay finished on my desk.
;

"I have spent the last three years in Europe,


mostly in Munich, and have done much writing,
besides a good deal of concert work. When
Miss Kitty Cheatham came to Munich and
gave a recital, she asked me to do some things
for her. I had so much work on hand that I
could not think of it then, but told her when
the right
could do.

moment came I would see what I


Months afterward a little volume

of verses

was sent me.

these

songs,

I glanced through
them, and felt that here were just the things
I wrote quite a set of
for Miss Cheatham.
to

little

and

it

gave

me

such pleasure

do them.

CHARACTER OF THE COMPOSITION


"I do not sit down, as some imagine I do,
and say: 'Now I will write a concerto, a fugue,
or some large work.' The character of that
composition depends entirely on how the subject works up, whether it becomes a small
form or grows into a larger work. I love to
work in the large forms, they are just as easy
if

not easier for

me

than the small ones.

186

Piano Mastery

"Do
come

Second Series

not imagine, because the large forms


me now, that I have not studied

easier to

I worked very hard for years.


the start I had one season with Junius Hill,

very seriously.

At

in Boston, but everything beyond that has been


own labor. I possess about every treatise

my

that has ever been written on the subject of

harmony, theory, counterpoint, double counI have


terpoint, fugue and instrumentation.
a large library of these books. I have a good
knowledge of French and German, and have
made exhaustive studies of works in these languages. I can repeat whole chapters from Berlioz' delightful book on instrumentation.
"In studying Bach I memorized a large
number of fugues from the Well-Tempered
Clavichord, not for the mere sake of committing them, but because I had made such a careful study of them. I wrote many of them out
in score, in order to find exactly how they were
constructed, and how the voices were led. I
could write out the parts from memory, so thoroughly did I know them.
"In the study of instrumentation, the orchestra was my teacher; I was a close student of it.

For obvious reasons


to

it is difficult

become familiar with

Some

all

for a

woman

instruments in use.

of the largest she cannot play; in any

Mrs. H. H. A. Beach
event
all.

it is

But

187

not practical to take lessons on them


the orchestral composer

must know
Thus I

the various voices of the orchestra.

made

a deep study of the band in action. I


always had the score with me, and learned to

know

each voice as intimately as I know the


my own family. I wrote out scores

voices of

memory, and then would


work
next
day and compare it with
my
the playing of the orchestra. In this way I
learned whole movements from symphonies by
heart. Thus I feel that the knowledge I have
acquired has been by my own effort and what
of Beethoven from

take

I compose

a part of myself."
To quote another sentence
Goetchius:
is

"The development

of her very

from

Dr.

uncommon

talent for composition has been almost wholly


achieved by her own effort unaided but also

unbiased.

unique

In consequence of

fact, she has

somewhat

succeeded in preserving her

individuality to a rare degree.


is peculiarly herself."

The

this

What she gives

Symphony will probably be


New York next season and we also

Gaelic

heard in

hope to become more familiar with other works


of this composer in the larger forms.

XVI

LEO ORNSTEIN
SANITY IN MUSIC STUDY

LEO ORNSTEIN, an

modern

and
composer, was born in 1895 near Odessa, RusAfter coming to America he was thorsia.
ultra

pianist

oughly trained in the Leschetizky principles


of piano playing by Mrs. Thomas Tapper, and
in other musical studies at the Institute of
Musical Art.
Several years ago he went
abroad for further study and recitals. He

London and Norway, and had


numerous concerts ahead when the outbreak
of the war caused him to return to America.
"You heard me play years ago?" began
young Ornstein, as we were seated in my studio
played

in

for a musical conference.

about

five at least, if it

G minor.

was

"It must have been


in the Mendelssohn,

really ever do that? Ah, how


lifetime appears to lie
seems!

Did I

long ago it
between that period of my life and to-day, so
much has happened to me I am another
person."
188

rt?.

Leo Ornstein

189

One could easily understand his

feeling.

For

the student had developed into an artist, the


fledgling into an aspiring composer,* whose

daring flights of imagination have already


aroused much attention on both sides of the
Atlantic.
Whether, as some would have us
believe, the startling innovations of the

young

musician are but the ravings of an unsound


mind, or are to preach a new gospel of emotional impression and tone color; whether the

youth
a

is

but a clever juggler with sounds, or is


brilliant star arising in the musical

new and

firmament, the future alone can decide.


It can be truly said, however, that one cannot talk with Leo Ornstein for five minutes

without realizing he is absolutely sincere in his


work. His fixed purpose is to express himself
and his age with fidelity and honesty, according to his lights, no matter what

may

say to the contrary.

age of

critics

or others

And he has the cour-

his convictions, plus

enthusiasm enough

to furnish forth a dozen less

buoyant and more

sedate brothers in art.

"The

technical side of piano playing?" he


is technic but the means by

continued; "what

which you can express yourself it is the outward and material sign through which you are
able to say what is in your heart to say there;

Piano Mastery

190

i~
'fore it is subordinate,

Do not think that

Second Series
but must be individual.

I would for one

moment

be-

must have it, it is a necessity ;


sinks into insignificance before the meaning of the message one has to deliver.
technic ; one

little

but

it

"As a

pianist I have

had most thorough and

am thankful to say; I play


constantly, and know my Bach

excellent training, I

my

Czerny
from cover to cover. I feel Bach is the greatest
master of all: his works will never fall into
Still, we must realize we live in a
neglect.
different age our customs, our manner of liv;

we

ourselves are not at all like the people


ing,
of Bach's time or Beethoven's, or Haydn's.

Look

Mozart; could any music mirror and


express the spirit of his age with more charming simplicity and fidelity? I love it; it is a
perfect reflection of the time in which he lived.
at

The

technic to play Mozart, however, will not


answer to play Debussy. Modern music requires an entirely different handling of the incannot interpret modern ideas
strument.

We

with the old style equipment. To illustrate:


none of the older composers would think of
making such requirements on one's technic as
this,

for instance."

The young

artist

went to

the piano and played a succession of shadowy,


filmy chords. "I must here use the palm of

Leo Ornstein

my hand

191

as well as the fingers the former dewhite keys below, while the fingers
the
presses
touch the black keys above them. In another
;

had in
of blocks of granite, which

chord passage from one of

mind

the falling

my

pieces, I

descend softly with a muffled thud," again

illus-

trating.

As

a pianist

from the

praise

"He

Leo Ornstein has won high


Huneker says of him
critics.
:

that rare thing, an individual pianist."


Others have written that: "his playing has
is

tonal beauty and clarity of style;" that "he


has a touch on the keys as caressing as it is

with an almost uncanny breathing


into and inhaling from them something of
inspiration." "He is a born virtuoso, with an

powerful

ear unparalleled in its sensitiveness for tone


and tone quality. Trills and passages are
faultless and are delivered with a freedom and
color

perfection any one might envy."


On a later occasion Mr. Ornstein spoke

more

freely about technical development. "I have


a good many experiments and discoveries

made

about piano touch and technic, especially when


I was living in Paris. After being in Vienna,
I went to Berlin and then to Paris, where I

myself up in a garret and worked


for about nine months. For one thing I want-

literally shut

192

Piano Mastery

Second Series

ed to make a study of some modern French


music, for modern tendencies absorb me
greatly. I procured a few pieces by Debussy
and Ravel and studied them closely. Of course
I memorized them
them a good deal.

in a

few days and played

But my playing did not


I
did not see what was the
me,
satisfy
though
matter. All at once it came to me that I was
trying to make tone color with my fingers,
when it should be done with the pedals. The
moment this truth was borne in upon me, the
problem was solved. I began to study all man-

ner of pedal effects and tonal coloring with the


pedals.

"In mastering piano tone and

arm

plays a vital role.

technic, the

Naturally, the fingers

must be well

trained, but in playing they do


not need to be lifted high. In fact, the nearer

they are held to the keys provided strength


and elasticity have been developed, the better
the tone.

Strength of finger

is

A firm nail joint


as

much

think

it

softly; I

the great thing.

is absolutely necessary, quite


for soft as for loud playing. People
does not need much strength to play

am

sure the reverse

is

true.

must be very strong and then held

Fingers

close to the

keys, for pianissime effects, otherwise the tone


will be mushy and uncertain. I have a whole

Leo Ornstein

193

and agility, which


away from the piano

set of technics for strength

I go through when I am
they are specially useful when traveling. Here
is one:" he pressed one finger, firmly curved,
into the table, and slowly rolled it from side
;

to side.

All fingers are to be treated in the

same way. Another exercise for strength consisted in lifting one finger in curved position,
as high as possible, while the other four were
pressed down into the table with strong pres-

sure.

In neither

yield or 'give

in,'

exercise should the fingers


at the nail joints, but always

preserve their rounded form.


When practicing I use full power, or nearly
so
play slowly and firmly. When I thor-

oughly know the piece, I gradually go faster,


till I have worked it up to the required tempo.
It comes up without much trouble, when one
thoroughly knows the notes. Many players
the mistake of at once playing quickly,

make

after the slow practice ; I find

it

much

better to

acquire speed gradually.


"It is so easy to fall into a rut in regard to
grow accustomed to hearinterpretation.

We

ing compositions rendered in a certain way;


any deviation from that standard startles us.
I can feel the shock caused by novelty, go over
an audience, when my rendition is not the con-

Piano Mastery

194

Second Series

ventional one of the schools.

For

instance, in

G minor Ballade

of Chopin, I hold pedal


through each of those final runs, on through to
the chord following it makes a new and interthe

But

esting effect.

it

sometimes, and I can


it

surprises the musicians


see they do not consider

orthodox.

BEFORE A CONCERT
true that on the day of a recital, I pracbut do not
tice for hours
all day perhaps

"It

is

touch the pieces I am to give for my program.


Instead, I practice many other things, often
Bach. In this way the program seems to me

much

fresher than

the last

moment.

I had delved on it up to
I play Bach a great deal;

if

the

Well-Tempered Clavichord, the big organ Preludes and Fugues arranged by Liszt,
and of course the Chromatic Fantaisie and
all

Fugue.

"The
tive,

artist's

playing in public

to the student.

is

very decepthe artist conceals

For

the mechanism of his art, and only considers its


emotional message before his audience. There-

not always a real benefit to the student


to hear a great many artists that is, not a benefore

it is

fit

to his technical

development, though

should help him on the interpretative

side.

it

Leo Ornstein

195

me give you a few words more about


Paris
experiences. I brought a letter of
my
introduction to the famous critic and writer,
"Let

Calvocoressi.

There

is

a wonderful man!

He

can speak and write eight languages Greek is


one of them. He writes for several English
papers and two Russian, besides the foremost
Paris magazines. I went to him, told him what
I was doing, played for him and showed him

some of

He

at once spoke Russian


interested himself in me and helped me

my

to me,
in a great

stuff.

many

ways.

He

lectured on the

music of Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Ornstein


in the Sorbonne and other places.
"You have heard the story of my London
concerts. It was a terrible experience; I can
now, but then it was heartrending.
There seemed to be two factions; those who
were open-minded enough to listen, who wished
to understand what I was trying to do; the
others who closed their ears and would have
none of me. Well-seasoned concert goers said
they had never seen a London audience so
stirred and upset.
laugh at

"A

it

week

after

my

first recital there,

I gave

a second, with an entire program of my own


compositions. That occasion was the most try-

ing one of

my

whole

life.

I was hardly con-

196 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

scious of a note I played that day, but I got


through the ordeal in some fashion.

"I can well understand how my music must


strike people on first hearing.
Even good
musicians can discover nothing whatever in it
when they listen to it once but I know many
cases where they do see the meaning of it after
repeated hearings. If they would but reserve
their decision till they have heard a piece seven
;

or eight times, they could judge of it better.


It has often chanced that they understand it
after the eighth time. You know Pelleas and

Melisande, at its premier, was hissed off the


stage and the curtain rung down on the second
act. Now it is sung to sold-out houses.
So I
asking the listener to bear with
after he has heard my work a few times.

always feel

me till
Even
to

the

like

Wild

Mans Dance has

become clear

some after the eighth time!


say, I must always lead up

"As you

to a

piece like that: I could never let it out of a


clear sky, so to speak. And I must work up
my mood also, in order to be an efficient

medium.

"You

manner of composing.
I can say I never sit at the piano when I compose, never try the thing over as I write it, and
ask about

my

never under any circumstances change a note

Leo Ornstein

197

must stand or
fall as first set down. Perhaps after a few days
I may condemn what I have written. If I find
of the piece after

it is

written

it

unworthy I say to myself 'Leo Ornstein, for


shame! how could you write like that.' Then
I tear it up. Probably I shall never make a
second attempt on the same subject it is gone,
it

passed into oblivion.

"The composition comes into my mind fullfledged and complete as far as it goes. When
I hear

it,

make

frantic haste to get

I lose a note.

This

it

to

paper

a difficult task, because the rhythms are often so intricate, and


I must preserve those as well as the harmonies.

lest

It

is

very

difficult to

is

decipher the

first

hasty

my pieces no one can do it but myself,


for I have a sort of musical shorthand. Tonic
and other regular chords may not be written
in at all, but I know what they ought to be. All
must be jotted down so quickly there is no time
to be careful. It only took about two and a
half hours to put the Wild Mans Dance on
draft of

paper.
pieces ;

Publishers are asking for more piano


I have composed a number, but oh, the

task of copying them!

"When
in

composing, I have often an incident

mind which the music

trate; yet I

am

is

designed to

illus-

averse to affixing any special

Piano Mastery

198

Second Series

to the piece, as this may hamper player


or listener, who are endeavoring to picture the
title

scene or

mood

hinted

To

others the piece


may suggest something entirely different from
the picture or mood the composer had in mind

when writing

at.

be quite as appropriate and legitimate as the one he had intended. I might tell you a pretty story about
it;

these

may

my Wild Man's Dance, that is, what the music


means

to

me;

to

you

quake or a shipwreck.
observe that at
the

men

first

may mean an

insistent

earth-

When

there

fall into line.

become very

it

is

you hear it you


some confusion, as

But soon the rhythms


and compelling, as the

savages unite in their mad whirl. At last one


of them comes out from among the others, and

dances alone in the

circle.

This Dance

is

one

of the most difficult compositions, and requires


tremendous power to play. You may have

heard about my playing it for Leschetizky. Of


course I led up to it with some simpler and

more melodious things. When I finished the


Dance he seemed quite dazed by it. Then he
sprang up, exclaiming, 'You must have lied
no living mortal could put such a
thing on paper P I happened to have the manuscript with me, and showed it to him he would
to me, for

scarcely believe

it

even then.

Leo Ornstein

199

"Another piece that interested me to write


was Impressions of Notre Dame. I visited
the famous church almost as soon as I arrived
in Paris.

On my

return to the hotel the

Impression sprang into my mind.


later, after another visit to the old

first

A few days
pile,

the sec-

ond Impression, Gargoyles, was written.

"Some

of

my

recently published composi-

tions include a set of nine piano pieces (Op. 7)

two songs, Mother o Mine, and There Was a


Jolly Miller; also a Sonata for violin and
piano, and one for piano and 'cello."
It is evident that talent for composition went
hand in hand with pianistic ability, for the
young Russian began to compose at an early
age.

About four years ago new impulses

led

into novel paths ; his work began to manifest traits similar to those found in the music

him

of Schoenberg

and Stravinsky, although Orn-

was unacquainted with their compositions.


"I do not conceive of
he himself explains
music in the way Beethoven did as a mosaic
of themes and motives, each developed and restein

As

peated, block-wise. I try to express feelings


rather than forms impressions, emotions,
mental states of consciousness."

To

quote again from Huneker:


"I never thought I should live to hear Arn-

200 Piano Mastery

Second Series

old Schoenberg sound tame; yet tame he is,


almost timid and halting after Ornstein who

most emphatically, the only true-blue, genuine Futurist composer alive."


is,

XVII

HAROLD HENRY
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
"You

are a real American?"

"Yes, a real simon pure American, born and


bred here; educated in music here, too, with
exception of about four years spent
other side."

I was making the most of a flying

on the

visit to

the

city made by Mr. Henry, who was passing


through New York en route to Peterborough,

N. H.,

to enjoy a well earned vacation after


busy season.
"If you wish a word of personal history," be-

gan the

pianist,

brought up

"I

am

a Kansas boy, born and

in that state.

teacher was Miss

My

first

piano

Geneve Lichterwalter.

"I studied at the University of Kansas, and

was graduated from that


ers at that time being

institution,

my teach-

Carl A. Preyer for piano

and George B. Penny for theory, the latter


located in Rochester, N. Y.
"After graduation, in 1902, I went abroad.

now

201

202 Piano Mastery

Second Series

Three years were spent in Berlin, with Godowsky and Dr. Ernst Jedliczka. Then came a
season in Paris with Moszkowski, and after
that America. I made a few appearances with
orchestras in Berlin, but my career virtually
began in my own land, where I have taught

and concertized for the past ten years.


"During this period I can affirm that

my

greatest teacher has been Experience; there


surely can never be a more valuable one.

master can do only just so much for you can


take you about so far, can give you the benefit
of his knowledge and experience. After that

you must "go

it

alone"

you must work

it

out!

doing the thing that counts every time. If


you want to be a concert pianist, then play in
It's

concert

you

there

desire ;

is

no other way to become what


how to do it by doing it.

you learn

Each year I do more

public playing, though


I do not permit this to interfere with my teachI devote five half days to instruction,
ing.
which is all the time I am willing to give; I

need the remainder for study and the preparation of my programs.

TEACHING METHODS
"Regarding methods in teaching, I can truly
say I have as many methods as I have pupils,

Harold Henry
for each one of

them requires

203

special treatment.

No two pupils have the same physical and mental

equipment practically every hand presents


;

new problem. This

fact proves the difficulty


that confronts the careful teacher ; it is one that

makes constant demand on

one's resources.

TWO IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES


"Firmness of the hand and relaxation of the
are the most important principles to start
with. The hand should assume an arched position, with firm knuckles and rounded fingers.

arm

When

conditions permit I try to solidify the


at once; but if I have a small, tightlyknit hand to deal with, it must be stretched

hand

and limbered up before anything else can be


done. I use various gymnastic and stretching
exercises I also have a set of technical forms
which have been of great benefit to me; I use
;

them

daily and give them to


pupils. They
consist of trills, scales, arpeggios, octaves, dou-

my

Pupils at the outset must


movements and finger action
eventually finger movement is well-nigh eliminated and the arm does the work. The trouble
with pupils often is they do not see the necesThey
sity for repetition and constant drill.
seem to think if they have done an exercise a
ble thirds,

and

so on.

learn free finger

204 Piano Mastery

Second Series

few times, that is sufficient. If told to repeat


again and again, they exclaim, 'Oh, I've had

it

that before!'"

QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS

Mr. Henry answered the following questions


in a way which will be appreciated by every
teacher and student:

How

is finger development secured be1.


fore the time comes when the arm does the

work?

"By practicing slowly and as heavily as practicable,


2.

with curved, well-raised fingers."


to do for weak finger joints?

What

"For weak finger joints I use what I call


the 'pull touch.' Beginning with the finger flat
on the key or table (for this can at first be done
to great advantage away from the piano) it is
pulled gently up to the normal curved position.
This is also a preparatory melody touch."
3.

How

much

technic practice outside of

pieces ?

"The amount of pure

technical practice outside of pieces should depend on the amount of


time the pupil devotes to practice. At least

forty minutes out of four hours should be de-

voted to absolute technic.

encourage

my

Personally

pupils to do the same

and I
I keep

Harold Henry
a practice schedule.

In

this

205
I rotate

way

technical forms so that nothing

is

my

slighted."

Velocity and power?

4.

"Velocity

through

and power are only attained


and systematic drill. As we

definite

are not good judges of our own speed in playing, the metronome is of incalculable value in

working for

velocity.

All technical forms

should be strictly rhythmic, and dynamics must


also be considered. Accents are of tremendous

importance in working for velocity. To attain power and endurance, all slow technical
work should be done with as much tone as is
keeping muscular conditions
practicable,
always right."
5. Best way to study chords and octaves?
"In playing chords and octaves, the hand
should be extremely firm, the wrist and arm
devitalized.

Whether

the wrist

is

held high or

low depends entirely on the hand and wrist of


the individual. I hold my wrist high in most
chords and octave passages, for I am thus able
to keep conditions more nearly ideal in this
way for pupils with large, loose hands, the low
;

wrist

is

advisable.

"I have many technical forms for developing


a chord and octave technic. In the main I
get best results by teaching

first

a prepared

206 Piano

Mastery

hand, lifting the wrist

hand
6.

Second Series
first,

and allowing the

to follow."

Scale practice with metronome?

means

practice not only scales, but


all other purely technical forms with the metronome for velocity and power. I always break

"By

all

scales up into accented sections, each one of


which I polish before practicing the scale as
a whole."
7. Your views on modern compositions?

"The trouble with

the

modern composer

is

apparently the desire to be clever rather than


sincere.

While the average worth

is

high, the

great bulk of things now being written I


speak of piano compositions will not live, because the novelty of them which is their chief
attraction, rapidly wears off.
technical difficulty of much that

The extreme
is now being

written entirely outweighs the musical content.


Much time must be wasted before discovering
that one neither wants to play or teach them.
Nevertheless, I am constantly going through
reams of new music, and when once in a while

I come across something of real charm and inspiration, I consider my labor well repaid. In
spite of the great difficulty of finding

new

things which are worth while, I feel it the duty


of the concert pianist, a duty which he owes

Harold Henry

207

himself and his public, to give programs that


are at least unhackneyed. The disfavor into

which the piano recital has fallen is the fault,


not of the instrument nor the public, but of the
performer in
It

is

his stereotyped

program-making.

much

to expect, and it is taking our


attainments too seriously, to think that

too

own
we can read so much

that

is

of

new interest into

compositions which have been on every program for at least twenty years, to speak within

bounds.

known

Let us rather make

familiar the

little

compositions of the masters."

Mr. Henry is constantly widening his outlook and enlarging his repertoire. Each season
adds to his influence as teacher and interpreter.

XVIII

HENRY HOLDEN HUSS


ELIMINATION OF MECHANICAL ETUDES

HENRY HOLDEN Huss, American

pianist,

composer, teacher, belongs to a musical famHis father was long a beacon light among
ily.
the teachers of a former generation, he himself
has made an honorable career in his chosen pro-

His musical studies were begun with


and continued with Rheinberger in

fession.

his father

He also studied theory with O. B.


He is well known as an excellent pian-

Munich.
Boise.

ist, thorough teacher, and is the author of a


number of ambitious compositions in the larger

forms.
It

is

a pleasure to confer with so enthusiastic

a thinker on pianistic problems as

Henry

Holden Huss.
"I believe in hobbies," said Mr. Huss, with
characteristic animation

and conviction; "we

I don't mean hobby-horses, of


for
course,
they constantly move, but never get
all

have them.

anywhere.
208

'Tc^

^Vr^wL^

^f^^Mre^

Henry Holden Huss


"One

209

the

my hobbies is the advisability, really


necessity for short periods of study. No
of

intelligent practice can be done if one sits at


the piano several hours at a stretch.
pupil

you she has practiced two or three


hours without stopping, as though it were a

will tell

great virtue, something to be proud of; while


you know she could not have done it with any
sort of concentration.

when he

studied,

it

MacDowell told me that

was with such intense con-

centration that he needed to rest a bit after

And you remember, he

fifteen minutes' work.

was an athlete

in physique

and strength. After

thirty minutes' practice, I think the player


should rest four or five."

"Do you,

then, approve of hour lessons?"


"Certainly, for the reason that I can call a

halt

and make a

If
diversion myself.
or
a
below
in the street

little

something is going on
hand-organ is playing, we stop a few moments
and listen; then we can resume the work in
hand with fresh vigor.

"PIANO PLAYING" A BAD TERM


"I wish a new term could be invented to replace the universal one piano playing for
seems entirely lacking in dignity and meanWould not piano interpretation come
ing.

this

210 Piano

much

Mastery

nearer the truth?

'playing' has come


singers,

down

who played

their songs for the

Second Series
I suppose the term
from the minne-

to us

their little harps

amusement

and sang

of the gentry in

the ages gone by. In these days our aim is


really to interpret piano music. Even the little
child does so with his simple pieces.

"Another of

my hobbies

a vigorous opposition to the desecration of Bach's music for


is

the piano, which results in its being hated by


so many students. New pupils often say to

'Whatever you do, don't make me play


I ask why, and they answer that they
hate him. Then I tell them I am sure they
have been fed on the Inventions. They seem
surprised I should know it and admit I am

me:

Bach!'

right.
it

their

teachers, in small places, think


to teach Bach under all circum-

Many
duty

So they give the Inventions, using


them as technical exercises.
young lady
came to me not long ago who had had just this
experience. She looked on Bach as one who
wrote dry polyphony, with no soul or emotion.
stances.

To

prove

how mistaken

she was, I played part

She
air, My Heart Ever Faithful.
thought it beautiful but would hardly believe
I fully agree with you that the
it was Bach.
of the

Henry Holden Huss


gavottes, gigues

more pleasing

211

and sarabandes are a much

side of the great

master to be-

Though
gin with than are the Inventions.
even the Inventions contain much variety of
expression,

if

one has the technie and ability

it out.
The fact is, Bach expresses
shades of feeling surely the Chromatic Fantaisie is as full of emotion as is anything of

to bring
all

Wagner.

COMMENDS USE OF CLAVIER


"One thing I firmly believe in, and that is
the elimination of the mechanical etude, and
their name is legion. Think of those difficult
things of Alkan, for instance. The fact that
the distinctly intellectual side of music study is

being more and more cultivated and investigated is a very definite and let me say modern
cause for encouragement. Let me cite here
something that sounds almost incredible.

Czerny, dear old Czerny, frequently useful old


Czerny, and sometimes foolish old Czerny, in
one of his innumerable books of technical
studies says 'As the student will probably find
:

these exercises rather dry' (he usually does!)


'let him place a book or newspaper on the

piano-desk

to

read

Fortunately nowadays

playing them!'
are ready to grasp

while

we

212 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

eagerly whatever makes for concentration of

mind.

"Let us use our influence for the musical


and expressive. I endeavor to make my pupils
see that everything they do should have a
meaning and should be expressive of some

The very

technic of the piece is the


in which the musical thought of the com-

thought.

body

poser comes to us.

The player surely desires

to

present the composer's ideas in as fair and perfect a body as possible. Hence the necessity
of working at the technical side in order to ac-

complish

this.

I advise pure technical forms

in place of a great

many etudes.

"I have in my Condensed Technics endeavored to provide exercises that absolutely require great concentration, since they are all to
be played with varied rhythms and shifted accents,

and require transposition

into all keys.

Along with these technics I find it most advisable to search out the difficult passages in pieces
and encourage the pupil himself
little

etudes out of them.

to construct

Most of

my

pupils,

perhaps ninety-five per cent, have practice


I
claviers, which I recommend to them all.
advise dividing practice between clavier and
piano. For I have found in pupils who have

been trained to use the clavier for a large part

Henry Holden Huss

213

of their practice, that while they may have excellent fingers, the musical sense has not been
sufficiently cultivated,

nor their idea of depth,

power and variety of tone.

"How

piano technic has advanced, through

relaxed arms and wrists!

You remember how

much Paderewski has done

Among

line.

know

for us all in this

the present-day theories,

we

some that are founded on principles and will stand.


baby placed before
the keyboard pats the keys with outstretched
fingers and quite naturally limp wrists. That
condition of loose wrist is what one must have
to secure a musical quality of tone. In getting
back to nature we know we have come to the
there are

correct principle.

REJECTS FRIVOLOUS STUDENTS

"Of

course, every teacher wants serious students. To speak frankly, if I see a girl fond,
of candy, French shoes and continued excite-

ment, or a boy who must have his cigarettes and


highballs, I say to them: 'There are plenty of
teachers in New York who will be glad to have

you as pupils and take your money. Go to


them, for I don't want you. I only want serious workers.'
"It

is

a much-discussed

question

as

to

Second Series

214 Piano Mastery

whether the teacher shall explain what is to be


done and let the pupil work it out alone, or
whether he shall illustrate his instruction at the
instrument.

Though

I believe in the former

method, I cannot always follow it. If a pupil


comes from a distance and wishes to get all the
help he can, I must not only explain, but show

him many things at the piano. For instance, if


I say: 'You accent this passage too strongly/

'How much should I accent it?'


The quickest way is to show him. Thus I find
there are many points which cannot be de-

he will answer,

must be shown.
"I wish you would write an article on the
'Greater Chopin/
hear so much about him
at present. One of my hobbies is to combat the
scribed but

We

idea of

One

making everything of Chopin heroic.


pianist tried to make the first movement

minor Concerto heroic, and in my


was
opinion
spoiled in the process. Chopin's
music seems to express every sentiment and
of the

it

emotion except humor.


he is lacking in this?

Did it ever
One would

strike

you

think the

Scherzi would express humor, but they do not,


my thinking. Chopin could be bright, gay,

to

capricious, but not really humorous, as Bee-

thoven was or Schumann or MacDowell."

XIX

RICHARD BUHLIG
THE VALUE OF LEARNING TO HEAR
"INDEED I

am

glad to be in America

it is

the best country to live in at present. I returned several months ago, after an absence of

many

years.

In

fact, I really

grew up on the
when but a

other side, as I was taken abroad

young lad."
The speaker was Richard Buhlig, an American pianist, who will make an extended tour of
his native land.

It is pleasant to come into more personal


touch with this pianist than is possible through
listening to a recital

by him.

One

finds

many

qualities of delicacy and sensitiveness for the


subtleties in art and musical expression which

are revealed during an interchange of ideas in


musical conference.

"As a young boy," continued


went to Vienna,

the artist, "I

to study with Leschetizky, and


remained with him about three years. Since
that period I have superintended my own de215

216 Piano Mastery

Second Series

velopment. An artist must always do that


the sooner he can do so the better for him. If
intended for public life, he only begins to
learn many things about his art when he comes

he

is

before an audience.
lightenment. He
could ever tell him.

This very act brings enthen discovers what no one

He then gains experience,


the great teacher. It has been
my good fortune to play in almost every country in Europe, except Russia and the Balkans.
The outbreak of the war prevented my filling
which after

all is

many engagements booked for me in Russia, but I had played in Germany for two sea-

the

sons, until I left for this country."

Mr. Buhlig has a winning


has thought deeply on
his art.

all

personality; he
subjects relating to

So just and cogent are

his views

piano study that I questioned at once

if

on
he

taught.

"Yes, I have for years done some teaching.


I love to teach, and shall continue to do it here

between

concert engagements. Many of


my pupils are fighting in the different armies
Some
in fact they are scattered everywhere.

my

have come over to this side to continue work


with me here, while some who have known of
my career in Europe will put themselves under

my guidance,

Richard Buhlig

217

METHOD OF TEACHING
"

You ask about my manner of teaching. I


can say at once I have no method, though of
course there are certain things every pupil
must know how to do and work on daily. One
needs trills, scales, chords and octaves; when
one can do these things in every possible tempo
and gradation of tone, piece playing becomes
comparatively easy. I have no sympathy with
cut and dried methods, or with endless repetitions of Czerny studies and other mechanical
k

When every person is different from


other
every
person in constitution and temetudes.

perament, in mind and physique, how can a


master have a method to fit them all? The
thing is impossible! One pupil has a large,
another a small, tight one. One
pupil can move the arm well, but has no fingers another has good fingers, but no command
flabby

hand

of arms.

I treat the former student as though

I only cared about fingers for a time while


for the latter I work with arms as though they
were the most essential things. So you can
see the teaching must be entirely individual a
;

teacher must have as many ways of teaching


as he has pupils.
"A teacher must have great experience as

218 Piano
well as tact

Mastery
and

Second Series

intuition, to

know how to

diag-

nose each particular case, and what to prescribe


for it. He is a doctor in more senses than one.

He

must know the malady the pupil suffers


from, also the best means to eradicate and
cure

it.

LEARNING TO HEAR

"Ear

training is one of the most important


branches of study. I find one of the greatest
difficulties which stand in the way of progress,
is

the failure to hear what one

is

doing at the

piano. The student may have an idea in his


as to how the piece ought to sound, but
often seems quite oblivious as to how he is

mind

His head may be in the


clouds while his hands are making the most
atrocious errors as to tone and rhythm. I say

making

it

sound.

'I can lend you my ears for an hour


but
what of the many hours you will
to-day,
have to use your own till you come again?'
For the most a master can do is to give the student the benefit of his ears, while instructing
him how to use his own. When the moment
comes that the pupil actually hears what he

to him:

is

doing, consciousness

is

awakened and then

progress begins. When that


the pupil realizes that his tone

moment
is

comes,

not beautiful;

Richard Buhlig

219

becomes consciously unbeautiful,


where before it had been unconsciously so. He
in

fact

it

finds that his playing altogether

ent from what he would have

it.

is

very differ-

It

is

a crucial

period, and needs the firm hand of a master


to prevent discouragement, to hold him up,
and show him what to work for.

"I try to have the student learn to empty his


I say to him:
ears, and then learn to listen.
'Practice with empty ears, so that you may fully
hear what you are doing. Don't play straight

through the piece; rather pause often in your


study. Sit back and listen to phrases. Play
the phrase in various ways, noting what is
Concentrate on each point, to make it
as perfect as possible.' When teaching do not

wrong.

the pupil the fault. Insist on his


playing the passage till he himself finds out
what is wTong. Is there not a line of Brown-

always

tell

God uses us to help


first
our
ears out?
each other, by lending
help pupils with the use of our ears; but they
must be shown how to use their own.
"While I do not care for mechanical etudes,
ing,

which intimates that

We

I use Bach constantly; the Inventions to start


with, and as much more as I can give. To get
a pupil to see the form and shape of a single
phrase of a Bach Invention, the pure beauty

220 Piano Mastery

and expressiveness of

Second Series
it, is

doing much for

his

advancement.

USE OF PEDALS

"The pedal is another factor in playing, the


use of which is not understood. There is much
more to pedal playing than merely putting it
down at one chord and taking it up at another.
The pedal is an art in itself. It is the moonlight of the piano

the sunlight too the fog if


you will, and the atmosphere. I have made
a great study of pedaling. I use the deceptive
;

pedal, by which I mean that it gives quality


and color to the tone, though the listener does
not know it is being used. He would miss it
if it

were not

there.

He

realizes the coloring

of the tones, but may not detect use of pedal.


The pedals are employed for color. I can
use pedal for scales with such rapid foot-vibra-

amounts to a tremolo.
repertoire contains most of the large

tion that

"My

it

works in piano literature the great sonatas


and concertos. I am known on the other side
as an interpreter of important works. I have
not so good a repertoire of pieces in the lighter
forms. Yet several years ago I was the first
pianist, I think, to place a group of Debussy
on a program. Other players would insert a

Richard Buhlig
number here and

single
or ten

on

my

ing quite a

221

but I put nine


English programs, thereby makthere,

propaganda for

this style of music.

Since then I have taken up Schoenberg and


have done the same for him.

"We
these

might question the right of some of


futuristic works to be called

modern or

music at

meaning

all.

They

are not, in our accepted


They are pictorial,

of the term.

though I personally prefer to liken them to


literature than pictures. The modern French
composers are programatic but more pictorial
than literary.
"They have a kinship with painters, for they
strive to paint pictures with tones.
Modern

on the other hand, try to imitate


might say Debussy is related to
Whistler. Schumann, on the contrary, finds
painters,

We

music.
his

counterpart in literature.
"Of the two greatest musicians since Bee-

Chopin and Wagner I place Chopin


Look at his Mazurkas, what consumfirst.
mate mastery of form! Music, unlike other
arts, has no subject matter to begin with: it
thoven

is

To me,

the highest in music


not that which strives to depict pictures,

starts with spirit.

scenes or states, but


able

spiritual.

It

what
is

is

intangible, impalprelated of Schoenberg

222 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

was asked the meaning of one of his


compositions. 'What does it mean? Why-

that he

I understand that perfectly. Nothing


I play has specific or tangible meaning; to me
it is music that is enough

music.'

"Yes, one needs a particular style of technic


to play the compositions of Debussy and the

movements, very litand always the shimmering


give color and atmosphere.

rest; creeping, sliding


tle finger lifting,

pedals to

INTERPRETATION

"In regard to interpretation, I feel that the


must have a clear concept of the composition, its form and meaning he must know how
artist

he wishes to make it sound. Naturally he


strives at each repetition of it in public, to
carry out this ideal;

it

would be most

illogical

to expect him to do otherwise. But he should


play it as though he did it for the first time.

That

is

one difference between the

the non-artist.

The

latter plays as

artist

and

though by

he has been taught, while the artist


recreates anew, though on the lines he feels best
I admit
express the feeling of the music.
rule, or as

that, as his

change a

surroundings vary, his

little.

One day

mood may

may be
have more

soft places

softer, loud parts louder; he

may

Richard Bulilig

223

at one time than another.

vitality

But he

must try

to express the selfsame ideal.


the
difference
between the non-artist
Again,
and the artist lies in the concept. The artist

surely

works out a matured concept and

ideal, while

the non-artist often plays as he feels, with no


plan at all. You notice I do not contrast the
artist

w ith
r

the amateur, for I believe the ama-

teur can be an
laid to

artist,

make a

on

whom

no necessity

is

I wish

it

business of his art.

might be possible to employ our art freely in


this way, for the love of the doing. Then both
teaching and playing would be a gift to those
who are ready and appreciative. And when

you think of
the artist

it,

who

how can dollars and


an

gives

sum

cents repay
audience the best that

experiences, the
result of all his sufferings, his very life blood.
Or to the teacher who gives to the pupil his
is

in him, the

ears, his eyes, his

If

of

all his

wide knowledge, insight and


were not necessary for the

it

experience.
artist to have things for his well-being and
existence, it would be a joy to give his art
freely, without thought of mercenary return,

but having the appreciation of the receiver.


For I do not believe that only the receiver
should feel gratitude
giver to give."

it is

also grateful for the

XX

MISCHA LEVITZKI
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATURAL TECHNIC

ONE

of the pianistic sensations of the season


of nineteen sixteen has been the playing of

Mischa Levitski, as the inspired performances


of the young Brazilian, Guiomar Novaes, had
been the year before. Levitzki suddenly appeared in our midst, and had given his third
recital before the season
first recital

won an

was half

His

over.

instant success; each suchis hold on the public.

ceeding one increased

The
ent,

listener realized here

already

highly

was an unusual

developed.

tal-

well-

equipped technic, subtle feeling for tone color,


clear grasp of the composer's meaning, ability
to set all these forth with conviction and authority,

made

his

performances

full of satisfac-

and delight.
Mischa Levitski is very young to have
achieved so much. He has the boyish manner,
the frank open expression and ready smile be-

tion

fitting his

youth but at the piano one


;

224

feels the

Mischa Levitzki

225

maturity of thought which tempers the young


ardor of his nature.
In conversation he is
clear-thoughted and fluent, ready to share his
experiences with the questioner, though he says
sometimes, with winning modesty, "it seems
so to me, but perhaps I

am

rather

young

to

judge."

A recent chat with Levitski elicited interest-

ing facts about himself and his work.


"You ask for a brief account of my short
career," he began.
"I was born in Russia, though I am an
American citizen, as
father was naturalized

my

Eight years of my childhood were spent in Russia and then we came to


New York. About a year and a half before we
left the other side I had begun to study music.
here thirty years ago.

"Not long

we

arrived in America, I
was taken to the Institute of Musical Art,
after

and placed under the tuition of Stojowski. I


also had to attend the public school as well, so
that I was never able to practise more than
two hours daily often not more than an hour
and a half. I merely mention this because people often imagine I must have practised incessantly, because I have considerable technic.
"After about four years at the Institute I

went

to Berlin,

and had the privilege of study-

226 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

ing with Dohnanyi. He is a wonderful master


and above all such a thorough musician. I

know of no greater teacher, if the pupil is ready


to profit

by such guidance.

"In Berlin I could exchange the routine of


school life for lessons with private tutors, and
thus gave but two hours daily to school work,
all

the rest of

my time to

be devoted to

leaving
music.

Here again I was handicapped in piano

study.

An injury to my

right

hand and arm,

caused by excessive bicycle riding, prevented


a day. This
was a severe disappointment, when I was so

me from practising over two hours


eager to give

all

my

time to music.

But I
it, made

thought music constantly, lived in


serious theoretical studies and heard no

end of
happy to say, how-

concerts and operas. I am


ever, that the two following years of my four
with Dohnanyi, I could use my hand for three

hours each day.

THE GIFT OF TECHNIC

"We know there is

such a thing as a natural


technic, and I suppose that is what I have. I
think technic is a gift, just as much as the gift
for musical expression. But a gift in either
direction must be developed to be of real value.

am

beginning to realize

this

more and more.

Mischa Levitzki
"With

my two

227

great teachers I did very

lit-

For example, I
I seldom did so.
but
scales,
As my teacher never heard scales at the lesson,
and as I was able to make a pretty good showtle technical study, as such.

was told to practice

ing in
pieces, he thought I
ticed them.

my

must have prac-

"When I went to Dohnanyi, he at first


me smaller things than I had been doing
Kinderscenen of Schumann and the

gave
the

earliest

Sonatas of Beethoven. Some students might


have objected to this, but I was very glad to
study in such a careful, systematic way. He
believes one must have much more technic than
the piece requires, so he always gives pieces
that do not tax your technical ability to the
utmost, so that you

may

be able to more fully

master their meaning and content.

"Dohnanyi allows the student

to play the

piece entirely through without interruption.


often jotting down faults

He listens carefully,
on a

slip of

bers them.

before

paper, though he generally rememWhen the piece is finished not

he makes the corrections.

Finally he

plays the piece through from beginning to end.


As he is such a master interpreter, this of itself
is

a great inspiration to the pupil.


"In regard to the technical side, the

Hun-

228 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

garian master did not so greatly concern himHe did not attempt to teach technic outself.
side of compositions.
quire this by himself.

The student must

My

ac-

technic advanced

year or two, for I began


music, in fact I
played everything with him.
"Dohnanyi is very particular about clearness
rapidly after the
to play

first

much more

difficult

of touch, requiring the fingers to be well raised


and careful practice. The beginning

in slow

and

finishing of the phrase, its shading and


balance, are all thought out. I acquired a well

developed technic of the fingers; I could do


almost anything with my fingers, but I did not

know how I

me

Things came so easily to


that I never went deep enough into the subit.

know how
many artists

ject to
lieve

did

I accomplished them. I bethose who have the gift of

do not analyze the principles which underlie artistic technic. Perhaps


I should say few artists ever do. The gift of
technic does not mean the understanding of it
that must be learned through patient study.
technic at all events

SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF TECHNIC

"For the past year and a

my own

half I have taken

in hand, which one

development
do
sooner or later.
always

must

Mischa Levitzki

am now
As

"I feel that I

problem for myself.

229

solving the technic


I have said, I had

never occupied myself much with that side,


never thought it necessary to inquire into the
principles, so long as I could play the pieces
I wanted to play. Over a year ago my need
for deeper knowledge

came almost

as a revela-

As

I pondered the technic problem on


this certain day, a light seemed to dawn, and
tion.

I then, for the first time, grasped the principles


upon which the whole scheme of piano technic

The

rests.

principles themselves are not

they have been known for a long time.


it is

rather the

new
But

manner of their

application that
to
me.
It may be only
light
case that the working out will apply ;

became the new


in
it

my own

may not fit others.


"In one way

covered, yet

words

it

it is
is

would be

no secret that I have

very

difficult to

dis-

put into

it than
can
be
said
the
Briefly,
principle of relaxation plays a very large part; sup;

it

to describe

easier to demonstrate
it

it.

ple, yielding wrists,

arms that hang quite free

from the body; also the idea of playing easily,


with no stiffness or strain anywhere. Of course
these are Dohnanyi's principles, too; he uses

them

in teaching

artists.

But

and playing,

as

do

all

great
I have discovered for myself

230 Piano Mastery

Second Series

methods of applying these principles; I know


now just what I am doing, and why.
"I give much of my practice time at least
half of it to working up my technic. I found
that while I had good finger development, I
fell

far short in octaves.

None

of

had given me systematic training

my

teachers

in this

branch

of technic, so I have set myself to master

AN

ARTIST'S

it.

PLAYING OFTEN DECEPTIVE TO THE


EYE

"In watching the performance of

artists,

apt to be deceived as to movement and


condition.
They often make so little move-

one

is

ment with

fingers or wrist, that, to the casual


observer, these scarcely seem to move at all.

When

you see Busoni play octaves, it seems


as though his wrists must be stiff, so quietly
are they held.
But such cannot be the case,
or he would not be able to execute octaves at
all.

In

artist is

short, the public performance of the


apt to be very deceiving.
gener-

He

ally plays quietly with no unnecessary motions

in fact the greater the artist the

movements.

For

instance

quite different in public

more

my own

from what

quiet his

playing
it is

is

in the

There I play
privacy of my own studio.
slowly, with well-raised fingers, and large free

Mischa Levitzki

231

movements. In public I eliminate much of this


and use only the most necessary movements.

During study hours I am not striving for


power, but for ease of movement with right
conditions; yet I have enough power when I
need

it.
Public playing is the finished product,
shorn of everything that savors of the workroom."
Here Mr. Levitzki brings out clearly a point

which often mystifies both teachers and students. They seem to think, because an artist
plays

so

quietly,

with

little

movement

of

not necessary for


fingers, wrists or arms,
them to teach or study correct action of the
various hinges of hand and fingers. This is
a grave mistake. The artist has trained his
it is

anatomy through many years of severe

effort;

he probably continues to do so in the privacy


of his studio. In public he foregoes all but the

most necessary movement, for we are often


told it is the highest art to conceal art. But no
one ever gained command over his playing
mechanism and the keyboard, without working
for correct finger action, supple wrists and
loose arms.

folly to start at the top of the


to make real progress, one must

It

is

ladder, when,
take the required steps leading to the goal.
Rather start at the bottom, making the ascent

232 Piano

Mastery

gradually and logically.


nothing to undo.

THE

Second Series
Then

there will be

CLASSIC SCHOOL OF PLAYING

"I desire to play the classics well," went on


the young artist; "perhaps that style suits me
best
at least I love it. Mozart, for instance,

Mozart the most

difficult

of

all.

The

notes are

often very simple, as you say; that fact is one


of the chief difficulties.
In works of other

composers, the tones can be sustained or covered by the pedals, but not so in Mozart. Here

must stand forth unaided by


which
to be used very sparingly.
are
pedals,
It seems to me the greatest requirement is
the bare tones

absolute evenness; also beginning and ending


the phrases in just the right way. You have

heard Lhevinne, and you know what a fine


technic he has. He worked at a Mozart Concerto three whole months before he could get it
into shape.

playing.

There

At

is

one of

really a school of

my New York

Mozart

recitals,

put one bravoura selection the Rubinstein


Staccato Etude on the programme, just to
prove that I could do that style too. And of
course a pianist must have the Liszt Rhapsodies and works of like caliber in his reper-

But I

prefer the compositions of the


classic masters."

toire.

XXI

ETHEL NEWCOMB
MENTAL PROBLEMS
"!T was a

IN PIANO STUDY

liberal education to

have known

Leschetizky," remarked Ethel Newcomb, as


we were chatting about her studies in Vienna.
"Leschetizky was such a wonderful man,"
continued this American pianist and teacher;
"I can scarcely realize he is no longer with us
he was the best friend I ever had. If he took
interest in a student, he never seemed to con;

how much

sider

seemed

"To

time he gave; in fact time

as nothing in such cases.


show how unstintedly the

master gave

of his time, I will mention this little incident.


"I had been so occupied with my own studies
that I
ances.

had not thought about public appearLeschetizky came to me one day and

said:

"I am

losing interest in you; you don't


to have the ambition you ought to have;

seem
you seem to have entirely settled down to your
studies you ought to be playing.'
;

233

234 Piano Mastery


"

me

Second Series

'Why, Professor, what would you have


do?'

"Get
with

out and play

orchestra

wanted

only

his pupils to

give a recital, play


play!'

(He

always

play in public.)

'Very well,' I said, 'I will go to the manager to-morrow morning and see what can be
done.'

"Next morning, on the way there, I met a


noted singer, who informed me she was just
arranging for a concert with orchestra, and
asked me to appear with her. I was delighted
at the chance of playing with the Philharmonic

Orchestra of Vienna and of appearing with


Mme. Francis Sayville, and gaily returned to
the Professor with the news, telling him I had
decided to play the Schumann Concerto. The

Professor did not quite approve of my choice,


saying I would have to stand comparison with
the greatest artists.
If I did well, people
would sa^r the music was so beautiful, it would

sound beautiful no matter who played it while


I did not do well, I would be blamed for attempting such a work. But I was not to be
deterred, for I had worked on the Concerto a
;

if

long time. The Professor rehearsed it with


would begin after
almost every day.
supper and work till nearly midnight, so eager

me

We

Ethel

Newcomb

235

was he to have it perfect, so utterly prodigal


was he of his valuable time.
"At the orchestral rehearsal, there was a
passage for flutes, which failed to come in. Not
hearing
to

it,

I stopped. The conductor turned


the matter. Instantly the

know what was

Professor rushed up, calling out, 'the Fraulein

knows the parts so perfectly and


has such sensitive ears she was disturbed when
the flutes didn't come in properly.' 'I said it
is

right, she

to save you,' he told


time if they fail to

me afterwards.
come

in,

you

'The next
have to

will

play the flute part yourself.'


"The day before the concert, Leschetizky
his lessons, and we worked together
both afternoon and evening. When he saw
the large audience assembling on the night of

gave up

the concert, he advised me to play the opening


passage with quite a different touch and phrasing, to render the tone
erful.

STUDIES

more

brilliant

and pow-

WITH LESCHETIZKY

"I studied and worked with the Professor


between fourteen and fifteen years. The last
four years I was his assistant. I was a very
young girl when I went to Vienna really only

a child.

I had been taught at

home

in America,

236 Piano Mastery

and

my

Second Series

friends considered I

had

talent.

In

those days I could go to a concert, listen to a


difficult piano piece, perhaps a Liszt rhapsody,

come home and play


racy, so acute

were

it

with reasonable accu-

my ear and memory.

I had

studied some of the rhapsodies, and a lot of


technic of the old Stuttgart school, but had no

foundation of musical knowledge when I went


to Vienna.

"I was duly prepared by one of the Forbereiters,, Fraulein Prentner, before taking my
first lesson with Leschetizky.
After a couple
of lessons, I was told to play for the next class.
These classes, as is well known, assembled every
fortnight.
ence.

My

I shall never forget this

name was

called

first

experi-

and I marched

three
quite bravely to the piano, to play
not
was
what
in
store
for
me.
pieces,
knowing

my

"My first piece went very well.


the Professor asked me to make a

At

its

close

modulation into the key of the next number. It was


an impossibility; I had never studied music
that way. The Professor appeared very much
little

surprised; then he called up a lad of eight,


since become one of the leading pianists of
Germany, and asked him to make the required

modulation, 'for this lady/ The incident was


a revelation. I had looked upon myself as a

Ethel
child.

Newcomb

Now

I was addressed
match with a boy of

237

as a lady, yet I

I began
to see the difference between the training I
couldn't

eight!

had had and the kind to be obtained over there,


where foundational knowledge is so thorough.
receive the sort of training that enables
one to transpose, improvise, play a difficult

They

composition in another key from the original;


in short to be real musicians.
"I had studied with Leschetizky about ten
years, when the call came for me to return to

America.

I told him I must leave for financial

reasons.
*

'No, you must not go,' he said. *I will


make you my assistant; you shall begin teaching at once; I will send you six pupils to-morrow.'

And

pupils.

he did.

He

I soon had a great

introduced

many

me

everywhere as his
took the greatest pains to make

and
on every point. One wonderful summer I went with him to Ischl, and there we
worked together daily, on how to teach, taking
assistant,

me

clear

up every subject in detail. At that time I only


half realized what a marvelous opportunity it
was. He would discuss the hand from every
point of view what this sort of hand should do,
and why another kind of hand should be held
;

differently,

and should be required

to do other-

238 Piano Mastery

Second Series

This is why he often said he had no


method. 'To make a pupil play three notes on
wise.

the piano, expressively and with variety of


touch, that is my method,' he would say. He
was impatient of so-called methods he used to
;

say to me, 'You will not write method books


you will play, that is your mission!'

PUBLIC PLAYING

"The

pianist

is

influenced

more or
I

am

the receptivity of his audience.


one cannot always play in the same

less

by

certain

way; the

piano, the room and the audience are factors


to be reckoned with. I wish I could always rise

above these things, but I am often influenced


by various moods, and therefore play differently at different times. New York is perhaps
the most trying city to appear in yet American
audiences are most encouraging and enthusiastic.
European or, to be more exact, German audiences are cold. They do not consider the player; he is only a medium through
which they hear the composition; in other
words they go to hear the music, not the per;

former.

a very subtle subject, the working


of the mind during performance. Surely the
ideal state is to be beyond the thinking and

"This

is

Ethel

Newcomb

239

planning stage, so that the player can freely


listen to his own tones, without being in any
or limited by questions of technic or memory. When I play, I am not look-

way hampered

ing ahead or anticipating what

am

is

coming; I

intently listening, listening to the tones as

they flow from under

"True

listening

the inner ear

my fingers.

that hearing mentally

by

only when one can

so
possible
detach one's self from one's surroundings as
to be entirely wrapped up in what one is doing.
is

Then, and then only, one really begins to hear.


I have seen this absorbed look come into the
eyes of Ysaye, as he stands before his audience.
After the first few phrases, his eyes take on a

when this comes I know he has


found himself, that he really hears. It is the
same with the great pianists also. When in
this trance-like state, one is not always conscious of what happens. At a recent recital,
when a recall was demanded, I was in such a
mental state that I could not come down to a
Before I
short, small piece for an encore.
knew it I had plunged into the Scherzo, Op.
39, of Chopin. I had not looked at this piece
for two years.
sudden realization of the
risk I was taking, almost made me come to
grief, until I had recovered poise.
different look;

240 Piano Mastery

Second Series

KEEPING TECHNIC AND REPERTOIRE IN REPAIR


"I practice from four to five hours a day,
and generally play with about the power I

deem necessary

for the concert hall, as thus


I can keep myself at concert pitch. I certainly
believe in scales, and practice them in various

touches and shadings.


chords and arpeggios.

So also with octaves,


Whenever my technic
I go over these things. Nor

seems to require it,


do I neglect the Etudes, Op. 740, of Czerny.
Several of these, played consecutively, should
put the hand in good condition. Leschetizky
believed that the first three contain everything
needed in piano playing. They were among

the requirements for obtaining lessons from


him. He usually called for one or two of these

when

the pupil

first

came

any subsequent lesson,


inaccuracy, he was liable

In fact, at
he saw technical

to him.

if

to call for one of the

Czerny studies, transposed into another key.


So they had to be learned in all keys. I run
through the four books frequently, and so keep
them fresh in my fingers.

"One

finds technical problems constantly in


I play the Tschaikowsky Concerto,
If
pieces.
I find there plenty of practice in chords.
Leschetizky's idea was not to practice either

Ethel

Newcomb

241

strenuous technic or etudes late at night, as


this would probably result in stiff muscles next
day. Rather play pieces at night, especially
those containing variety of touch.

DIRECT METHODS OF STUDY

"I find that people often go 'round and


'round the subject of piano study, without going directly for the thing they are or should be
aiming at. They run after this or that method,
whatever is most largely advertised. Nowhere
is this more evident than right here in New
York. They take dancing lessons to help them
play the piano. I say nothing against Daicroze, or mechanical keyboards, but I do believe that if

you want

to study music, you


itself, by the most

should go direct to music


direct route.

"I

am

convinced that America

is

improving

the quality of musical training offered to music


students.
have become more thorough and

We

There are more things to be


systematic.
learned about music than just to play a few
tunes on the piano.
are learning to try
and find the meaning and significance of music

We

itself."

XXII

RAFAEL JOSEFFY
BY SOME OF HIS PUPILS

THE name

Rafael Josefly has long been


one to conjure with, whether in Europe or
America, whether as pianist or as pedagogue.
He was by birth an Hungarian, itself a fact
of musical significance. He had studied with
Tausig and Liszt, and when he came to
America, in 1879, in the flush of youthful mastery of his instrument, he created a furore. He
was at that time a marvelous virtuoso ; he de-

veloped later into a poetic genius of the piano.


It would require a readier pen than mine to
fitly describe either

the

manner of playing, or

the teaching methods of this piano conqueror.


He had many pupils and followers during his

long residence among us, and his influence over


the development of music in America was important. As the years passed he became more
and more a thinker along the lines of music
education, as is evidenced by his two valuable
works on piano technic. These books prove
242

RAFAKL JOSEFFY

Rafael Joseffy

how

carefully he

worked out

243

technical prob-

lems.

Technic for the piano is such an individual


thing. In a sense it must be applied differently
to each pupil. This enlists all the resources of
the teacher, since the mentality of the student
And if the teacher
is varied in every case.

must adapt

individual, so,
will be

each and every


on the side of the pupil, there

his instruction to

fit

found every shade of comprehension

and receptivity.
I have been able to confer with several of
the American pupils of Rafael Joseffy, and

what they have to say will be of deep


to pianists and teachers.

ROSE

interest

WOLF

Mme. Rose Wolf, who was


sistant for about fifteen years,

the master's as-^

brought to her

work a wide experience of masters and methods. Born in Russia, a student in the Rubinstein Conservatory, under the famous pianist,
she also studied with Klindworth and Schar-

wenka in Berlin, and with Dr. William Mason


and A. K. Virgil in New York. In fact she
has investigated all methods, "to see ~vhat was
in them."

"I had studied with Joseffy, with some inter-

244 Piano

Second Series

Mastery

ruptions, ever since I

was fourteen," she

says.

"I feel I know his method thoroughly; in fact,


his 'new book,' as we called it,
the First Les-

we

sons,

sulted

wrote, so to say, together.

me

about every exercise

He

con-

my knowledge

Virgil's Method helped to explain


many a point. During the past fifteen years

of

Mr.

I prepared most of the pupils for Joseffy, and


alternated lessons with his.

JOSEFFY'S

METHOD

"Here is a model of Joseffy's hand. You


how the fingers are rounded, the knuckles
most

level

on top

see
al-

the knuckle of the fifth fin-

as high as that of the second ; the thumb


ger
was very
is curved also ; it is an ideal shape.
is

He

particular about hand position; that must be


formed before anything else could be done. He

takes

up

this subject in the

opening chapter of

He

Then comes finger action.


believed in high, free finger movements, especially at first later the high action was reduced.

First Lessons.

Each

of the exercises are to be taken in differ-

ent touches
these are for

Much

legato,
trills

and

marcato and staccato;


five finger forms, in all

attention is to be given to chord


the
various
positions both in three and
study;
four voices to be played in a variety of touches,

keys.

Rafael Joseffy
and always with

245

fingers prepared beforehand

for the keys.

Joseffy made much of the staccato touch,


both for fingers and wrist. Finger staccato

was not played by simply working the fingers


quickly up and down, but rather by a slight
dra wing-in of the finger tip (as Doctor Mason taught).
Wrist staccato was executed
with the hand, the wrist being free and supple
and fingers rounded. He did not advise alternating legato and staccato touches for scales,
a few repetitions of each, as is usually done he
considered this method of practice a waste of
time. But if staccato scale practice can be kept
up for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, great
;

benefit will result.

FINGERING
"Joseffy was very exact in all matters of fingering. When possible, a phrase or passage

should begin with thumb and end with fifth


An ascending scale should end with
finger.

Chords following single tones, in bass,


should receive, not the fifth finger again, but
the fourth or third, when possible. I took him
fifth.

minor Ballade of Chopin; he changed


the fingering in such a way that I had to learn
the piece all over again; but it then sounded
the

246 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

like quite a different composition, which


how fingering can alter interpretation.

shows

ORNAMENTS
"In regard to embellishments, he was particular to preserve the classic spirit, of bringing
the mordent or grace note on the beat. This

for

Haydn,

and even for


composers the modern

Scarlatti or Mozart,

Beethoven. For later


manner was generally chosen, though taste
should decide. His taste was exquisite on all
such points.

CHOICE OF PIECES

"One

of the most valuable things about


Joseffy's teaching was his rare insight into

the needs of his pupils. He was able to choose


just the musical food they required. If the
student lacked expression and a singing tone,

he was advised to study nocturnes or other lyric


music; if he needed bravoura, he was required
to work on brilliant pieces. Sometimes he was
allowed to play just the sort of composition
would bring out his best qualities in high

that

relief.

"Joseffy never talked much in the lesson,


never played the composition entirely through,
only parts of it. The student imbibed more by

Rafael Joseffy

247

any other way. He made you


see what he meant, what the music stood for,
If the pupil were
its meaning and significance.
not advanced sufficiently, he might get but litintuition than in

out of the lessons; but if really prepared,


physically and mentally, he could grasp intui-

tle

tively,

a great deal of the higher side of pian-

ism."

ALEXANDER BERNE
doing excellent work as
pianist, teacher and composer, speaks enthusiastically of his lessons with Joseffy, with whom

Mr. Berne, who

is

he studied for four or

five seasons.

on the following four fundamental principles: 1, Arched Hand; 2, Loose


Wrist; 3, Slanting Position (for scales and arpeggios) 4, High Finger Action. He was
"Joseffy insisted

very particular about position of the hand;


that had to be formed before anything else
could be done. Accuracy also was one of his
hobbies; therefore fingers must be well raised

during practice.

"With some pupils, I am told, he did not concern himself so much about technic. He was
very exact with me, for which I am grateful,
as it has helped me so much in my teaching,

248 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

SLOW PRACTICE
"Slow practice was greatly recommended,

as

only in this way could accuracy be acquired.


After the piece had been played for him slowly
and carefully, he would sometimes say: 'Now
play it fast, even if you drop some notes; I
want to see what you can do.'

"He
we

required much scale practice. At first


used a short scale of nine notes, for which

was necessary to pass the thumb under twice.


This was played in all keys, hands singly and
He claimed this little figure emtogether.

it

bodied the whole principle of the scale, without


waste of time or energy. Later, scales in four
octaves were studied in

all

keys.

RHYTHM
"Joseffy was a great stickler for perfect
rhythm. He insisted this principle should be
carried into everything. If the scale ended on
a third beat, the following repetition, or new
scale,

must begin on the

first

beat of next meas-

ure, leaving one beat between.


true of all technical forms,

The same was

249

Rafael Josef fy

THE
"With

CLASSICS

the classic in music Joseffy was in

He

used much Bach, also


Haydn, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven. Then

complete rapport.

came Schumann, Brahms and, most of all,


Chopin. His taste did not incline toward the
ultramodern school, though he used the two
Arabesques of Debussy.
"In Bach, when one voice

is

in

eighths

against another in sixteenths, the former was

played staccato and the latter legato, unless


otherwise marked. This reading gives variety
to the parts

and preserves the

classic spirit.

Joseffy used it for the older music.


"After the student had been initiated into

and had studied some pieces


very carefully, he was told to bring several
Sometimes I had
pieces for each lesson.
technical methods,

to prepare thirty or forty pages at a time


during the two weeks' interval; the idea being
to play through a

smoothness, style

number

and

of compositions for

effect.

"At

the beginning of his lessons, the student


provided himself with a staff-ruled notebook, in

which Joseffy indicated the technical matter to


be studied.
book,

Many

of the exercises in his

First Lessons

new

were thus dictated to

250 Piano Mastery

me

before the

work was

book I use in

my

Second Series

This is the
teaching, although I have
published.

adopted Joseffy's method of writing down exercises for

my pupils, as it gives peculiar inter-

est to their technical studies."

Mr. Berne

relates

many

incidents,

showing

the personality of the great pianist and his


kindly interest in his pupils. Lack of space

prevents their inclusion. The accompanying


portrait was taken by Mr. Berne at Joseffy 's
villa at

Tarrytown.

EDWIN HUGHES
Mr. Edwin Hughes, who has been for a
number of years as student and teacher a
leading representative of the pianistic principles of Theodor Leschetizky, was a pupil of
Joseffy for a couple of seasons before going to

Vienna.

Of

the latter's teaching methods he

says:

"Joseffy was immensely particular about


fingering. I have known the whole lesson hour

He

would finto be occupied with this subject.


ger a passage in several ways, telling the pupil
to practice them all and then decide which
would best fit the hand. In his work as editor,

he would spend many hours over the fingering


of a single composition. He often hit upon

Rafael Joseffy

251

though he was apt


and pedantic.
old
fashioned
somewhat
to be
This frequently showed itself in the changing of fingers on keys, for no special reason.
With him fingering was almost an art in itself.
He worked according to a principle, and always
brilliant ideas in this line,

If a passage ought to be played


legato, he would preserve that principle in the

put that

first.

fingering.

INVENTING DIFFICULT EXERCISES

"He

advised

making

difficult technical exer-

out of pieces that is to say, selecting the


hard parts and then turning them about in difcises

ferent ways, for one hand or the other. This


was the idea of Tausig and Liszt, with both of

whom

Joseffy studied. It is also Rosenthal's


plan; he doubtless got it from his teacher,
Joseffy. Another technical stunt was to practice with uncomfortable hand positions, such

low wrist, for instance.


Afterwards the normal position of hands, or
written arrangement of notes would be found
as octaves with very

much

easier.

PERFECTION OR ENDURANCE

"He counselled the

student to practice either


for perfection or endurance. For the former

252 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

slow practice was necessary, with well-raised

and minute attention to every detail.


the opposite course was observed.
'Play for speed, and keep it up, 'no
if
matter
some of the notes are dropped,' he
would say: 'go through the piece several times
without stopping, and do not yield to fatigue
overcome fatigue
fingers

For endurance

1'

CHOOSING SUITABLE PIECES


"Choosing pieces from which one could learn
a great deal, technically as well as musically,
was almost a gift with him. Take, for instance,

two works like the Schumann Fantaisie, Op.


17, and Chopin's Sonata, Op. 35. To the listener these works may sound about the same in
point of difficulty, but the pianist will learn
much more from the first movement of the So-

nata than from the

For

first part of the Fantaisie.


the same reason he did not favor either

the Tschaikowsky or Grieg Concertos. 'Any


one who can play chords can play those,' he
say. But from a Mozart or a Chopin
Concerto one learns much. The Intermezzi of
Brahms are more for interpretation than for

would

technical mastery, as
are involved in them.

few technical problems

253

Rafael Josef fy
JOSEFFY'S BOOKS

ON TECHNIC

"I make great use in my teaching of Joseffy's treatise on Piano Technic; I consider it a
great work. He has treated every point exhaustively. Of course it is a book for advanced
students, as he accepted no other kind. His
First Lessons,, which was issued later, I do not
use. After a careful examination, I found the
exercises just as difficult many of them
as
those in the larger work.
He intended the
First Lessons to precede the more advanced

work, and started out with a few f oundational


exercises, but soon leaped ahead to advanced
gil

He was

very favorable to the Virclavier and to the method evolved by its

problems.

inventor, Mr. A. K. Virgil.


pupil coming
to him who had been well prepared in this

method, he considered had a thorough foundation. I had been well grounded in this method
before I went to him, through my studies with
I found this
S. M. Fabian, of Washington.
preparation of the greatest benefit to

me

in

my

later studies.

"

Joseffy was one of the greatest teachers of

As

Why do
Americans come over here to study, when they
have one of the most remarkable teachers in

our time.

Rosenthal remarked

254 Piano Mastery

Second Series

Yet Joseffy himself counselled


his students to cross the ocean and learn what
Europe could do for them in matters of experience, travel, and musical inspiration."
their midst?'

XXIII

KATE

CHITTENDEN

S.

SIMPLIFIED PIANO TECHNIC

ABOUT

the

in contact,

first

on

my

musician with

whom

I came

New

professional advent in

York, over twenty years ago, was Miss Kate


Chittenden.
lived under the same roof and

We

saw each other daily. I was attracted by her


sincerity and fearless candor, her wide experience, and the justice of her opinions on most
subjects. As I learned to know her better and
got beyond a certain quaint, characteristic
brusqueness of manner, I realized how sympathetic she was, how tender-hearted, how
ready to help struggling talent, or those not
even talented, who craved an assisting hand. I

saw the Synthetic Method, which she organized and worked out, grow from its very inception.

Looking back over


to

all these years, it

seems

me Miss Chittenden's whole life has been one

of devotion to her ideals.


lieve to be:

To

Those

ideals I be-

develop the most practical


255

256 Piano Mastery

Second Series

method of piano study she could devise to aid


students to find themselves and work out the
;

best that
establish

them; to help young teachers to


themselves, in short to "lend a

is

in

hand."

Kate Chittenden

an American on both
sides of her family; her mother's people coming here in 1629, her father's in 1638. She happened to be born in Hamilton, Canada, where
her parents went to visit and remained. In
music she had the benefit of study with an exis

traordinary Frenchman, Jules Fossier.


at

Later,

Hellmuth College, London, she was trained

by Lucy H. Clinton, a pupil of Clara Schumann, who proved to be equally exacting.


Miss Chittenden came to New York in the
fall of 1876. Later she was made organist and
Choir Director of Calvary Baptist Church, a
post she held for over a quarter of a century.

In 1892 she joined the staff of the Metropolitan College of Music, which has since been renamed American Institute of Applied Music.
She has been the Dean of the Faculty there
since 1900.

SIMPLIFYING TEACHING MATERIAL

We

conferred lately on the wide subject of


piano teaching. I had remarked that in my

Kate

S. Chittenden

257

experience, neither singers nor violinists, as a


rule, could give an adequate idea in words, of

the essentials of music study and teaching;


whereas the progressive teacher of the piano
is

generally able to impart

much

that

is

useful

and helpful.
"That is because the piano is a universal instrument," said Miss Chittenden. "The singer
can only sing one note at a time, a violinist can
at most play two; but the pianist can depress
about a dozen keys the piano is the instrument
;

of harmony."

"I was greatly interested in your exposition


given at the New York Music Teachers'
Convention, held in New York in June, 1915
of the use of half-tones in teaching a comprehension of the material used in music. I believe
teachers and students would appreciate a brief

resume of your ideas."


"I was almost forced into these discoveries,"
answered Miss Chittenden, with a smile, "by
the utter lack of finger instinct observed in

most pupils who came to me.


needed to feel the black keys

I found they
as well as the

white half steps as well as whole steps.


"We, therefore, start with the half-step, the
smallest interval in music.

keyboard

all

At

the back of the

keys are a half step apart.

This

258 Piano Mastery

Second Series

very fact seems greatly to simplify matters for


the beginner. Who would imagine that out of
the twelve sounds contained within the octave,
479,001,600 changes could be made!

"We

emphasize the fact that each sound

is

to be considered the starting point of an independent system. The first technical application is made by starting from each one of the

twelve keys in the octave and proceeding by


half steps, using such variations of time, touch,

Next, we introduce a half followed by a whole step, proceeding from the same starting point, always making clear the relationships. Then we build
'Filled Seconds,' utilizing three piano keys.
With three sounds a number of rhythmic
changes can be introduced; but in order to

and dynamics

as one desires.

counteract the unstable influence of so

much

chromatic work, we always apply the same figure to the diatonic scale, taking care to emphasize the difference between the chromatic and

normal sequences. After the three sounds are


established, the middle one is eliminated, bringing us to the 'sequence of whole steps' (the

much of Liszt's filigree work).


can now take up minor thirds. I first

basis of so

"We
sharp

and
flat, or
sharp and F
two mountain peaks with a valley be-

use either

flat

Kate

S. Chittenden

259

The pupil can never mistake either of


for a major third, whereas the minor third

tween.
these

on the white keys is sometimes misleading. I


have the pupil feel this minor third chromatically up the keyboard, to learn its form and
shape. It is then written out and played with
different touches. After these, each of the four
sounds, or piano keys, within the minor third
are played in succession, as 'filled minor thirds/
to which eight different rhythms may be applied.

"As

major thirds, we use F


'two mountain peaks with

the model for

sharp and
sharp
two valleys and a small

hill

between'

equal to

four half steps. They may be played together


or in broken pairs. They may also be filled

and played with


ings.

variations, rhythms and shadalso


be preceded by an octave.
can
They

CHORD STUDY
"In teaching chords I use the three
this order: diminished,

minor, major.

triads in

Inver-

demonstrated by alternate hands,


overlapping each other. I call them "shingles." The diminished seventh and dominant
sions

are

seventh are taken

up

in the

same way and

are quite simple after the drill with triads.


There is a certainty of touch and vision that

260 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

comes from using chords chromatically and


afterwards passing through the circle of keys,
that results in fearlessness

of stumbling so prevalent

it

reduces the habit

among immature

pianists.

"I

am

glad to give you this brief summary


I think the musician should not
keep his discoveries to himself, but be willing
to share them with others. Musicians ought to
of the work.

have a code of ethics and as inviolable an oath


as physicians, who are not allowed to patent
their knowledge; for if a doctor is known to
secrete anything of public benefit, he is scorned

by his fellows. Surely the followers of the


most beautiful art ought to be as high-minded
as those in the best of professions."
long will it take the student to

"How

through the various half-step forms which


use?" she was asked.

go
you

"About three months. Of course all depends


on the ability of the learner and the amount of
time she has to give. All beginners go through
the work with my assistants.

"In a college such as Vassar, where the ordinary studies are accompanied by a large
amount of laboratory work, as well as a good
deal of special-topic writing, executive music
has to be crowded out, and it is very difficult for

Kate

S. Chittenden

261

the students to get any satisfactory amount of


Executive music, in my judgment,
practice.
should form no part of a college course. But
as a side issue, for recreation

and

inspiration,

Nominally, the Vassar students are allowed one fifty-minute period of

it is

invaluable.

practice daily, but in point of fact, they are


only able to get five half hours a week, or less.

Consequently, I have to prune the course in


piano just as close as possible. There is only
time for the most essential things. I insist on

good tone and rhythm, attention to phrasing


and dynamics, and an intelligent use of the
pedals. I use a large number of short pieces,
for the less advanced pupils, such as Schumann,

Opus 15, 99, 124; Chopin Preludes, and many


of the best short modern compositions.

My

I have three in the College give


a lesson to each music student once a week. I

assistants

give them a half hour lesson every other week;


the alternate week I have them in classes, six

number.
"Piano music, however, has recognition at
Vassar through the admirable course in Inter-

in

pretation given by Professor George Coleman


Gow, to performers in any branch of music.

These

classes are unique, as there are three reci-

tations each week,

and the works under consid-

262 Piano

Mastery

Second Series

eration are treated in such a

way

that at the

end of the year the students understand thoroughly why the composition is good and what
constitutes an artistic reading. They learn to
criticize intelligently, and after the laws are
once understood, students are called upon to
criticize each other.
This particular item is of
peculiar benefit.

A teacher may correct a fault

over and over again, and his correction may


have no appreciable effect; but let a fellow
student criticize another and
delible impression,

it is

it

makes an

in-

the end of that fault."

Miss Chittenden numbers over three thousand pupils who have studied with her in the
course of her long career. For nearly eighteen
years she has been head of the piano depart-

ment

Vassar College, making the trip to


Poughkeepsie every week during the entire
in

season.

Besides this she has been, for twenty-

five years, a lecturer

on the

New York

Board

of Education free lecture courses, being the


woman ever chosen to lecture on music.

first

It has been recently said of Miss Chittenden:


"To an exceptional degree she is open-

minded

to all the

new developments

in the

to her capacity for comprehending quickly new points of view and dis-

music world, and

it is

criminating shrewdly between what

is

worth

Kate
while and what

is

S. Chittenden

of

little

263

or no value in the evo-

lution of pedagogical work, that her success is


in a great measure due. She has devised a com-

prehensive system for teaching children, which


has produced eloquent results."

XXIV

AUGUSTA COTTLOW
TECHNICAL ESSENTIALS IN PIANO STUDY

WE in America have formerly been educated


to think that the greatest artists of the key-

board must come from Europe.

The

first

famous artist to visit and enthrall us with his


art was Rubinstein. Each year after his advent, some new European aspirants for our admiration visited us, so that

we began

to look

for a fresh pianistic sensation every season.


While we are grateful for all the old world

has taught us in the past,

we

are learning to
find ourselves in these days.
too have
artists of the keyboard, who compare most

We

favorably with those who come to us from over


the water. I believe the views and experiences
of our own pianists will be most helpful to the

American student and

teacher.

Augusta Cottlow, who has given the following conference, is an artist of whom America
may be proud ; her views will doubtless be read
with deep interest.
S64

Augusta Cottlow

265

"Prominent

pianists of to-day seem to be


fairly well agreed as to the essentials of piano

hand

how

to practice, and so
hand and mentality of the
average individual there seem to be so many

technic

Yet

on.

position,

in the

hindrances that

it is

not surprising that

berless students are crying out for


on these subjects.

more

numlight

THE MEANING OF TECHNIC


"Before considering the mechanical side of
it would be well to have a clear understanding of what the word implies. Technic is
the mode or means by which ideas are extechnic,

pressed,

and

this

mode

of expression should be

perfected so that the ideas may be clearly set


forth. This is a point which ought never to be
overlooked, but I have found that in the intense desire to perfect the 'mode of expression,' the object of it all is too often lost sight
of,

and the student forgets what he is striving


We must never forget that a great artist

for.

is not great simply because he has a wide range


of tone-coloring, fine finger action, a velvety
touch, or free and strong arm movements, but

because he has ideas to express.


the

Without

ideas

most perfect technical equipment leaves the


unmoved, except to excite the same

listener

266 Piano Mastery

Second Series

kind of admiration called forth by a fine acro-

The idea is truly the


that
quickeneth' in music as well as in
'spirit
every other kind of work. Thus it is that the
batic

performance.

with great musical insight will produce


exquisite effects with his technic, where the less
artist

gifted player, with the

same technical develop-

ment, can make little or no effect. It therefore behooves every student to increase his interpretative ability as assiduously as he is striving to perfect his mechanical control.

PATIENT STUDY
"It seems almost superfluous to touch upon
the subject of patience, as nearly every artist
has, in interviews or articles, dwelt upon the
patience required to perfect a reliable technic.
This is, of course, true in every line of human
endeavor. Great lessons can be learned from

Edison, for example, who


sometimes spends seventeen or eighteen hours
without interruption in his laboratory, working
the lives of

men

like

out his experiments. For the average student,


who loves his work, four or five hours a day at
the piano is no bugbear, on the contrary, a decided pleasure. It is not the amount of time
spent, however, which taxes one's patience, but
the kind of practicing one does that is, whether
;

Augusta Cottlow

267

one learns a composition by repeatedly playing


or by the careful, slow, analytical
that
process
goes absolutely to the foundation
of its technical requirements.
It is this
which
tests
the
analytical practice
patience of
it

over,

those

who wish

what

is

to develop a fine technic, and,


to

more important, of those who wish

keep this technic. Many students make the


mistake of believing that two or three years of

more or

less analytical practice will establish

their technic so that afterwards all will be easy


sailing ; but doubtless all artists will agree that

the continuous perfecting of each detail


that keeps their technic up to the standard, and
it is

brings that enviable 'polish' which is the cherished desire of every aspirant to pianistic
success.

HAND

POSITION

"Hand

position has been a subject of much


discussion, and the ideas regarding it have

undergone some radical changes since piano


playing became a fine art. At present the
arched hand with wrist on a level with the keys
conceded the position of the greatest advantage for all types of hands, supple or stiff; for
it gives the supple hand a brace and much

is

needed support for the fingers, especially in

268 Piano Mastery

Second Series

forte passages, while to the stiff hand with


back-action of the fingers it gives a kind

little

of vantage ground, from which the fingers can


fall perpendicularly into the keys.
im-

An

portant point to keep in mind is to tilt the


slightly towards the thumb, so that the

hand

knuckles of the fourth and

fifth fingers are at


as
least
high, if not higher, than that of the

second finger. This position enables the fourth

and

fifth fingers to fall

the keys,
otherwise

perpendicularly into

and not slantingly


do.

slanting

as they

position

would
of

the

weaker fingers often leads to the bad habit of


shoving the fingers down by means of the
weight of the entire hand, and prevents
independent action and the development of
strength in the fingers.

The

fingers should

by
means preserve a rounded position and be
struck on their tips. Whatever may be said in
all

favor of the stroke produced by the straightened finger, I have never heard a crystalline,

carrying tone from any one who used it. It


will be noticed I have used the phrase 'into the

keys/ This is what the finger stroke must


always be, even in melody playing where the
fingers are not so much rounded. It is essential that the key be pressed down to its full
depth at

all times, in all

manner of

tone-color-

Augusta Cottlow

269

even in the finest pianissimo, and in the


greatest velocity this is almost impossible with
ing,

and straightened finger. The


mechanism of the piano action is such that a
quick and deep stroke is essential for the perflattened stroke

hammer

fect action of the

otherwise the

hammers

against the string;


are sluggish in their

movement, and sometimes do not


strings at

all.

This

is

strike the

especially true in pianisis so light.


The

simOj where the pressure

pianissimo touch must, therefore, be carefully


practiced, as the greatest control is required to

produce

this

and deep stroke with

quick

delicacy.

THE WRIST
"This wrist

is

one of the most important facIt may be said that

tors in piano playing.


elasticity of

Too

tone depends on elasticity of wrist.

paid to the wrist; it is


often allowed to remain rigid. Is it then any
little

attention

is

hands and
arms? The muscles which raise and lower the
fingers are situated in the forearm, and are
connected with the fingers by tendons which

wonder that there

is

stiffness in the

pass through the wrist.

One

is

held

easy to see what must hapmight say the secret of relaxation

rigid, therefore, it

pen.

If the wrist

is

270 Piano
lies

Mastery

Second Series

in the suppleness of the wrist.

This

gained by the almost constant activity of

member

by raising the hand by


wrist at the end of each phrase,

is

this

means of the

by elevating
the wrist slightly when the thumb passes under
the hand in arpeggios, by drawing the hand

down

into the keys in melody playing, by sinking the wrist and lifting and lowering hand
and arm in chord playing by leading with the
wrist,

and

so on.

the muscles

When

the wrist

is

lowered,

on top of the forearm are relaxed:

when it is raised those underneath are relieved.


The movement should not be sideways, as is
often done, for this accomplishes nothing and
looks affected; it should be an up and down

The
slightly rotary manner.
of
strength is also assisted by this
development
elasticity of wrist, for every part of the hand

movement, in a

and arm

is

thereby unhindered in

its activity.

Thus I consider the position of hands and


fingers, and the freedom of wrists as most
essential points in the mechanical phase
technic.

of

VELOCITY

"The question of how

velocity

is

attained

is

often brought up, and many contend that


velocity comes of its own accord as a result of

Augusta Cottlow
slow, careful practice.

Velocity, in

271

many

in-

a natural characteristic, owing to


great suppleness of hands and a quick, impulsive mentality; but controlled velocity is
dividuals,

is

quite another story.

It usually requires

most

assiduous practice with the metronome, beginning with one note and increasing rhythmically
to two, four, six and eight notes to a beat, to

gain this control. It is not so much a lack of


rhythmic feeling as a lack of rhythmic control
which makes this necessary. The majority of
students have no idea of

how

to increase a pasrealize how un-

sage rhythmically, and do not

even their technical control is. Most people


throw up their hands in horror at the thought
of practicing with a metronome; they are
afraid of becoming mechanical, and so on. This
might be the result, if one habitually played
compositions through with metronome, but it
should be used mostly for routine practice and
analytical

work

in pieces.

TECHNIC PRACTICE

"For the student who can set aside four hours


a day to practice, I have found that one hour
of this time should be devoted to routine technical practice, embracing two forms of technic,

one for the fingers, and one for wrists and

272 Piano Mastery


arms.

At

least twelve

Second Series
forms of technic should

be gone over within a period of, at most, six


weeks. For instance, if one practices scales
and chords during the period of a week, employing both in several keys and forms, the

next week could be devoted to

trills

and

octaves,

also practiced in various keys, fingerings and


forms, and so on through the other divisions of

technic. The twelve forms which I feel should


not be neglected, and which are essential to the
formation of a many-sided, well-rounded tech-

Arpeggios (in various


forms), Close Finger Work (triplets, broken
thirds and the like), Octaves, Broken Octaves,
nic, are: Trills, Scales,

Chords,

Thirds,

Fourths,

Sixths,

Repeated
Notes and Skips. The principle of practicing
the various forms of technic in routine work
should be applied whenever these forms occur
in compositions.
nic practice,

This

is

true analytical tech-

TOO DIFFICULT PIECES

"There is one more point I would like to touch


upon, and that is the great evil (I can call it
by no other name!) of students attempting to
play compositions which tax the technic of even
advanced concert artists. This evil cannot be
too severely condemned. It prevents the stu-

Augusta Cottlow
dent from developing the

273

artistic side of

piano

playing, as his thoughts are so intent upon the


technical difficulties involved, which he finds it
impossible to master, as they are utterly beyond his present technical development. The

argument often used by teachers on this subject is that the student can only acquire a
knowledge of piano

literature

by studying

the

greatest compositions.
They are quite misfor
one
this
can
taken,
get
knowledge by the
thorough reading and hearing of these compositions, as I

know by my own

experience.

".We must always remember, as my dear old


teacher, Carl Wolfsohn, early impressed upon

my childish
play, but

thought, that

HOW

it is

we play!"

not

WHAT we

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